Back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Newsfeed

Bills hire NFL's first full-time female coach

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kathryn Smith was named the Bills' quality control-special teams coach on Wednesday, making her the first full-time female coach in the NFL.

"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff," Bills coach Rex Ryan said in a statement. "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities."

The move came less than a year after the Cardinals hired Jen Welter to serve as a training-camp assistant coach.

Smith served as an administrative assistant under Ryan this season, the team said.