BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Bills coach Sean McDermott believes special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley will learn from mistakes this season and improve his unit going forward.
McDermott, four days removed from a season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game, said in a news conference Thursday that Smiley will be retained for a fourth season in the role.
“Matthew has done a nice job,” McDermott said. “Listen, I know there are plays that have come up and I know he doesn’t feel great about them, nor do I. Those are learning pieces for a coach in his position.”
Special teams units can be hard to rank, but the Bills had some poorly timed miscues this season, in addition to the struggles of kicker Tyler Bass.
In the playoff game against the Broncos, for example, the Bills were caught off guard by a fake punt that gave Denver a first down near midfield when it was still a three-point game. In the AFC championship, the unit allowed a 41-yard punt return that gave the Chiefs starting field position on the Buffalo 34 ahead of a touchdown drive that made the score 21-10. In the Week 14 loss to the Rams, the Bills only had 10 players on the field for a punt block scenario on what would be the final play of the game … after having a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown in the first half.
“One of the things that’s interesting about a special teams coach,” McDermott said, “or the position that they occupy, is when you get some injuries like we had, in particular on the defensive side, unfortunately … usually the special teams coaches feel the cumulative effect because the special teams players get slid up into defensive roles and then they are left with what’s left, in terms of, how can I formulate a group to go out there and play effectively.
“All that being said, I’m confident that Coach Smiley is going to learn from those situations and plays that came up this year. He knows we can’t give up some of those plays that we gave up, and we have to be better.”
Noteworthy special teams issues weren’t limited to this season. The Bills lost a game on a special teams mistake in Week 10 of the 2023 season, falling to 5-5 after a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty gave the Broncos another chance at a game-winning field goal, which they converted from 36 yards out to win 24-22 after missing from 41. Their 27-24 divisional round loss to the Chiefs featured a failed fourth-quarter fake punt to Damar Hamlin that was doomed from the start.
Of course, observers remember the miscues more than the successes. A critical Week 18 game against the Dolphins in 2023, for instance, swung in the Bills favor after Deonte Harty tied the game on a 96-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Smiley has been with the Bills as long as McDermott. He started as the assistant special teams coordinator in 2017 and took over the job full time in 2022, after Heath Farwell left for Jacksonville following the Bills’ infamous 13 Seconds playoff loss to the Chiefs.