Bills Promote Matthew Smiley to Special Teams Coordinator

Matthew Smiley has been promoted from assistant special teams coach to special teams coordinator by the Buffalo Bills.

He will replace Heath Farwell, who left to take the same job with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday.

Though it remains unclear exactly what Harwell's role was in the decision to send the kickoff through the back of the end zone after scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds remaining against the Kansas City Chiefs, it appears as though he was pushed out the door.

KC went on to tie the playoff game on the final play of regulation and won it in overtime, leading to harsh criticism of coach Sean McDermott for not squibbing the kick or kicking short of the end zone to force a return that would have taken time off the clock. No time elapses when a kickoff hits the ground in or beyond the end zone for a touchback.

The story the Bills posted on their website about Smiley's promotion mentioned that Farwell is taking the same job with Jacksonville "according to NFL media reports," which means Smiley's promotion happened before the team definitively knew Farwell was leaving.

Smiley has been with head coach Sean McDermott from the start in 2017 and has coached a unit this past season that saw second-year kicker Tyler Bass become the first Bill to surpass 100 career points for two straight seasons since Dan Carpenter in 2015.

The Bills ranked 8th in the NFL in special teams in 2021, according to Sports Illustrated's Rick Gosselin. That included a No. 3 ranking in kickoff coverage, No. 2 in punt covevrage, No. 2 in opponent's starting point and No. 1 in takeaways.

Jacksonville ranked 24th overall.

Smiley has been coaching in the NFL since 2013, when the Jaguars made him an assistant special teams coach. He moved to the Bills for the same position in 2017.

His playing background was as a wide receiver at Illinois.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.