ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills have decided to part ways with their special teams coordinator, Matthew Smiley, according to a reliable source familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday. This move came after head coach Sean McDermott publicly supported Smiley. The Bills have yet to officially announce the firing, though it was initially reported by NFL Network.
Smiley’s job security was called into question after a series of special teams errors during his third season as the Bills’ coordinator. The team allowed opponents to convert first downs on fake punts on two occasions, notably in their 31-7 victory over Denver in the wild-card playoffs last month. This occurred despite McDermott warning Smiley to be prepared for such tactics after a similar play by New England in a previous game.
Additionally, the Bills surrendered two touchdowns on returns, including one off a blocked punt in a heartbreaking 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on December 8. The defeat was sealed when Buffalo failed to execute a punt block with just nine players on the field in the final seconds.
Despite these setbacks, McDermott publicly backed Smiley during his end-of-season press conference on January 30. While acknowledging the mistakes, McDermott expressed confidence in Smiley’s ability to learn from these situations, noting the challenges the team faced due to injuries.
Smiley had been with the Bills for eight seasons before being promoted to the coordinator position following Heath Farwell’s departure after the 2021 season. Farwell was released by the team following a painful 42-36 overtime loss to Kansas City in the playoffs, where the Bills relinquished a lead in the final seconds of regulation.
The Bills’ special teams were criticized for kicking the ball into the end zone with 13 seconds remaining in the game against Kansas City instead of attempting a shorter kick to run out more time on the clock.
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