The Buffalo Bills made history Wednesday, hiring Kathryn Smith as their new special teams quality control coach — the NFL's first female full-time assistant coach.
Smith has worked for the last two seasons as the administrative assistant to head coach Rex Ryan, and she has worked with the Bills in different roles for the last seven years. Smith also worked with the New York Jets' personnel department, according to the team's website.
"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff," said Ryan in a statement. "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she's going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams."
A quality control coach works with a team's head coach to analyze data from previous plays on video and help prepare players for upcoming games.
Last year, the Arizona Cardinals made news for hiring Jen Welter as a training camp assistant coach, but the position was temporary. The NFL also hired Sarah Thomas in 2015 as the first female referee.