Early favorite to replace beloved Steelers coordinator looks like a mistake waiting to happen in Pittsburgh
Not the hire that Steelers fans will be asking for after Danny Smith departs for Tampa.
If there was one loss that hurt Pittsburgh Steelers fans more than any other, it was the news that Danny Smith would be heading south to Florida. However, he’s not retiring; instead, he’s taking on the role of special teams coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Well, Mike McCarthy and the rest of the Steelers brass had a busy week during the Senior Bowl, making hires at defensive coordinator and offensive line coach, among others. However, there are still vacancies at two of the three coordinator spots, including offensive coordinator and, of course, special teams coordinator. The latter of those two positions has an early frontrunner that falls flat in more ways than one.
Steelers interviewing Matthew Smiley for vacant special teams coordinator role
Smiley is a tenured special teams coordinator and assistant in the NFL, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s good. For more on Smiley and what his tenure looked like with the Buffalo Bills, I spoke with A to Z Sports Buffalo creator Adam Zientek.
“Matthew Smiley did not have a great tenure during his time with the Buffalo Bills and was let go in February of 2025 after holding his role for three seasons. He was previously the team’s assistant special teams coach for five seasons, serving throughout McDermott’s tenure with Buffalo, starting in 2017. There were more than a few hiccups, with Smiley’s special teams unit making more than its fair share of mistakes, including wrong personnel on the field and the wrong number of players in key situations. The unit allowed a field goal block return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown, and the fifth-highest yards per kickoff return in Smiley’s last season. One thing Smiley had going for him was that he was popular among Bills players; he was a favorite in the locker room.
“It was a rocky start for Smiley in terms of success rate in special teams, but in his first season taking over, the team ranked fifth in Rick Gosselin’s special teams ranking, but fell to 28th in 2023, and 27th in 2024. Smiley’s unit was altered, which led to some problems, and it was all due to injuries sustained in the 2024 season. While McDermott was the head coach, he had nothing but confidence in the veteran coach, and even before he was fired, McDermott wanted Smiley back in the building.
“There were just too many little mistakes, from allowing a 41-yard punt return in the AFC Championship game that led to a Kansas City touchdown, to allowing multiple fake punts against them, one in the playoffs against the Broncos, and having only nine men on the field during a punt return, just some of the mistakes were inexcusable. Smiley has had some time to reflect and grow as a leader, and getting a fresh start with the Steelers could be exactly what the doctor ordered.” – Zientek
Mistakes, being let go, kickoff return rate, it all screams bad process to me. The loss of Smith will already create an identity crisis within that unit, but replacing him with a coach who lacks proven, on-field production may be an even bigger problem.
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