Archives for January 22, 2016

'“A lot of that goes with the tough things. Doing all the computer stuff, doing all the drawings, all that type of stuff,” Ryan said. “Working mainly with scout teams. … She’s done things like this in the past. “With the knowledge and commitment she has – very committed young lady – I think she’ll do a great job.”'

'Here are the Bills’ seven restricted free agents, in our priority order, along with what we’d do in each situation.'

'I’m pretty sure Linda Bogdan never met Kathryn Smith, but I’m guessing that somewhere, she is smiling at the way the team is carrying on a tradition of sorts.'

The Bills could still have a representative in Hawaii, as left guard Richie Incognito, center Eric Wood, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus are alternates. The roster will be finalized after the AFC and NFC championship games Sunday. Players from teams that advance to the Super Bowl are not eligible for the game, so some alternates will get into the game.

'The Bills deserve credit for hiring Smith and pulling sports farther into the 21st century.'

'Smith never played football and has never coached. I’ve read two books on Ryan and her name was never mentioned. But when a team has missed the playoffs for 16 straight years, any sort of progressive vision is welcome.'

'Turns out the Ryans were there for the same reason, the naturalization of one of the 60 immigrants taking the oath of citizenship on Thursday. She’s believed to be a family friend from Russia.'

'Penalties were a team-wide problem as the Bills committed 143 total, tied for the most in the NFL with Tampa Bay. On special teams, the Bills were flagged 25 times, third-most behind the Rams and Raiders.'

'And then last summer, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians laid the ground work for the potential of women serving as coaches when he brought in Jen Welter as a part-time linebackers coach during their training camp. But this was a temporary position as some teams bring on extra coaching assistants during that time of year to deal with the much larger group of players on the rosters.'

'As a quality control coach, she'll spend a lot of her time breaking down film of Buffalo’s opponents and preparing reports for the head coach. Smith's new job title may not sound glamorous, but it's an important role for the Bills organization — and for breaking the coaching glass ceiling.

'"The amount of attention generated from this announcement in the past 24 hours has been extraordinary, however, my focus remains on my job responsibilities and helping the team win.'

'"There's no place for a woman in professional sports, in football, coaching men," Kiley said. "Men will not take to it. If you have 10 men on special teams, eight of them will be mumbling under their breath. It's counterproductive. You're setting her up to fail. It's not her fault, it's the idiot who hired her."'

'Naturally, the hire quickly became national news and plenty of people reacted on social media. Here's what people had to say about the Bills' historic hire…'.

'But this is a huge moment for merit winning out over gender bias. It’s also a pretty great teachable moment. If you have a son who thinks girls don’t play football or a daughter who ever wonders, rightly, why there are only men on teams, you’ll need to turn on a Bills game next season. Even if you don’t root for the team, it’s going to be easy to cheer for Kathryn Smith.'

'"If you have 10 men playing on special teams, eight of them will be mumbling under their breath," Kiley said. "It's counterproductive. You're setting her up to fail."'