Danny Smith (American football)

Danny Smith

Smith with the Redskins in August, 2012
Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:	Special teams coordinator
Personal information
Born:	(1953-11-07) November 7, 1953 (age 71) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career information
College:	Edinboro State
Career history
As a coach:
Edinboro (1976) Graduate assistant Central Catholic HS (PA) (1977–1978) Defensive backs coach Clemson (1979) Graduate assistant William & Mary (1980–1983) Graduate assistant The Citadel (1984–1986) Assistant Georgia Tech (1987–1994) Running backs coach, wide receivers coach, & defensive backs coach Philadelphia Eagles (1995–1998) Special teams coordinator & defensive backs coach Detroit Lions (1999–2000) Tight ends coach Buffalo Bills (2001–2003) Special teams coordinator Washington Redskins (2004–2012) Special teams coordinator Pittsburgh Steelers (2013–present) Special teams coordinator

Danny Smith (born November 7, 1953) is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).^[1]

Smith was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1974. During his time there he participated in football, basketball and baseball.^[2]

He played as a defensive back and quarterback during his time with the Edinboro Fighting Scots, a team competing in NCAA Division II.^[3] In 2007, Smith was inducted into the Edinboro Athletics Hall of Fame.^[4]

Smith began his coaching career at his alma mater, Edinboro College (now PennWest Edinboro), as a Graduate Assistant. Following his season at Edinboro, he began coaching at his High School alma mater, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (1977–78), helping tutor future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.^[5] After two decades of coaching at the collegiate and high school levels, Smith entered the NFL in 1995 as the Philadelphia Eagles' coach for special teams and defensive backs. Subsequently, he occupied various assistant coaching roles with the Detroit, Buffalo, and Washington teams.

Smith joined the Steelers' coaching staff ahead of the 2013 season where he has remained as the special teams coordinator.^[6] The Steelers' special teams unit began to become an integral unit to the team under Smith. Most notably, Smith led the special teams unit to winning in the 2016 AFC Divisional round when kicker Chris Boswell, scored on all six field goal attempts to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 18-16.

On November 16, 2023, Smith tore his rotator cuff in three places absorbing a collision with Domontae Kazee on the sideline following the final play of a victory over the Green Bay Packers.^[7]

Smith began to see wider praise among the league when the Steelers special teams unit began making dominant plays. In Week 1 of the 2024 season, kicker Chris Boswell successfully made six field goals to win 18-10 over the Atlanta Falcons. Smith would lead the Steelers in replicating this feat with Boswell making six more field goals in an 18-16 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. In four games, the Steelers' special teams unit recorded two blocked field goals, a blocked punt, a blocked extra point, a punt return for a touchdown, and 12 field goals under Smith.^[8] Under Smith's leadership, the team began to develop confidence in the unit with Smith making aggressive play calls. During a matchup against the Commanders, Smith's former team, the Steelers attempted to execute a risky fake-punt deep inside Steelers territory. The play was not successful with Miles Killebrew missing James Pierre on the pass, which led to a short touchdown drive for the Commanders. The Steelers ended up defeating Washington 28-27.^[9][10]

Danny is the older brother of Ed Smith, a quarterback who set the Big Ten Conference record for career passing yardage while playing for Michigan State and later played in the Canadian Football League (CFL).^[11]