Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell went their separate ways this offseason.
That came after the Bills’ final 13 seconds against the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason. Included in there was a gaff, of sorts, when kicker Tyler Bass booted a touchback instead of forcing a return to kill time off the clock.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott made it sound like it was a mutual decision. He said from the combine he was “happy” for Farwell, who now holds the same title with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There was probably a little more to that story, as there may have been in terms of who was promoted.
Matt Smiley went on to be named to Buffalo’s special teams coordinator. Prior to that he was the team’s assistant special teams coach.
According to The Athletic, the Bills might have done so because they had competition for Smiley’s services. Per their report, the Denver Broncos “looked into” Smiley.
The report does not specifically state what for, or regarding what opening. The Broncos hired Nate Hackett as their head coach this offseason and he was filling out his staff and evidently Smiley’s name came up in some capacity.
Hackett was previously Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, however, he knows Smiley from Jacksonville. The two worked together with the Jaguars in 2015 and 2016.
Regardless, promoting Smiley is probably a good idea. While something clearly went wrong against the Chiefs, Buffalo has had good special teams production in recent seasons.
In Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, Buffalo has fared well. The last two years saw the Bills rank as the eighth-best special teams unit in the NFL.
Maybe a change was needed… but no reason to go crazy. But the Broncos might’ve also played a bit of a role here, too.
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