Veteran special teams guru Danny Smith returns to the NFL sidelines, bringing nearly 30 years of proven expertise to the Buccaneers' struggling unit.
Danny Smith is back on board as an NFL special teams coach -- this time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced on Tuesday.
Smith joins Tampa Bay with almost 30 years of experience coaching special teams, including the last 13 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has coached special teams for each of the last 25 seasons for three different franchises and held the position for four NFL franchises during the last 29 seasons.
Prior to joining the Steelers in 2013, Smith coached the special teams in Washington from 2004-2012 and spent three seasons before that, 2001-2003, in the same role for the Buffalo Bills.
Smith also had a stint coaching the special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995-1998. In between his stops in Philly and Buffalo, Smith oversaw tight ends from 1999-2000 for the Detroit Lions.
During Smith's tenure in Pittsburgh, he coached two players to All-Pro honors. Kicker Chris Boswell earned the honor in 2024, a season in which he went 41-of-44 on field-goal attempts and a perfect 35-for-35 on extra points.
Safety and special-teamer Miles Killebrew received the honor in 2023, a season that included two blocked punts for Killebrew.
Smith will replace Thomas McGaughney, who was let go on Jan. 8 after two seasons with the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay was the fifth franchise McGaughney worked for as special teams coordinator. He also worked for the New York Jets (2014), San Francisco 49ers (2015), Carolina Panthers (2016-2017) and New York Giants (2018-2023).
Smith was able to seek work elsewhere after Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach of the Steelers on Jan. 13, the day after the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Houston Texans.
Tampa Bay is looking to improve a unit that struggled across the board in 2025. That includes ranking 30th in the league last season in kickoff-return average allowed and average opponent drive start after kickoffs. By comparison, the Steelers ranked eighth and fifth, respectively, in those categories last season.
Tampa Bay also allowed three blocked field goal attempts and two blocked punts this season. Pittsburgh has not allowed a blocked punt since 2016.
The special teams coach known for his gum-chewing will now be smacking his lips in Tampa Bay.
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