 Smith with the Redskins in August, 2012 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | |
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| Position: | Special teams coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | November 7, 1953 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Edinboro State |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
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Daniel Thomas 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 as of the 2024 season. [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.
Smith is credited with developing Boswell as a player. As of the 2024 season, Boswell is the sixth most accurate kicker in NFL history, making 87.6% of his field goal attempts. [7] During the 2019 season, Smith emphasized the importance of attention to detail and trust within his unit. Boswell, coming off a challenging 2018 season, showed significant improvement, which Smith attributed to a renewed focus on "detailing his work" and maintaining a "positive mindset". During a game against the Los Angeles Chargers that same season, Cam Sutton made a successful onside kick recovery. Smith placed Sutton in that high-pressure situation due to his trust in his unit to be dominant. Additionally, while Jordan Berry’s punting average was on pace to set a franchise record, Smith remained focused on game-to-game performance and stressed that consistent improvement was the ultimate goal and did not focus on the record itself. [8]
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. [9]
The 2023 season saw a strong outing for the Steelers' special teams unit in which they achieved a field goal percentage of 93.6 and an extra points made percentage of 96.4. This accounted for 114 of the 304 (38%) total points scored by the team during the season. [10]
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. [11] 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 the game by defeating Washington 28-27. [12] [13]
In Pittsburgh, Smith is the subject of overwhelming praise for his coaching of the team's dominant special teams unit. [14] He is often the subject of internet memes due to his eccentric personality and is often noted for his habit of excessively chewing large amounts of gum on the sidelines of games, particularly during high-stakes situations. [15] [16]
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). [17] . He’s the younger brother of George Smith. Proprietor of Dunning’s in Regent Square and coach of St. Bede and Morningside football for over four decades.
Smith currently resides with his family in Wexford, Pennsylvania [18]
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1995 season. The Cowboys defeated the Steelers by the score of 27–17, winning their fifth Super Bowl in team history. The game was played on January 28, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the first time the Super Bowl was played in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
William Laird Cowher is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He began his coaching career as an assistant under Marty Schottenheimer for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the latter's defensive coordinator from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, Cowher was named head coach of the Steelers, whom he led until his retirement following the 2006 season. After retiring, he joined The NFL Today as a studio analyst.
Jeffrey Montgomery Reed is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2002 until 2010, and is third all-time behind Gary Anderson and Chris Boswell for the most points scored by a Steeler.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2005 season began on January 7, 2006. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, 21–10, on February 5, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
Joseph Thomas Nedney is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State and signed as an undrafted player with the Miami Dolphins in 1996. Nedney played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2005 to 2010 after having played for the Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans.
Joshua Taylor Scobee is an American former professional football placekicker. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Louisiana Tech, setting several school records.
Shaun Christopher Suisham is a Canadian former professional American football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while also playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Bowling Green Falcons.
The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 74th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 7th season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 15th and last under head coach Bill Cowher, as he retired on January 5, 2007. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 2005 and also failed to defend their Super Bowl XL championship, Instead, they finished the season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. In the first half of the season, the Steelers record was 2-6. However, the team dramatically improved during the second half of the season, flipping their record from the first eight games and going 6-2 in their last eight.
The Snowplow Game was a regular-season National Football League (NFL) game played between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots on December 12, 1982, at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Due in part to icy conditions, the game remained scoreless until late in the fourth quarter, when the snowplow operator was called in to clear a spot on the snowy field specifically for New England kicker John Smith so he could kick the game-winning field goal to give the Patriots a 3–0 win.
Russ Purnell is an American football coach. He has served for 26 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL, mainly coordinating the special teams units. He is one of only 21 NFL assistant coaches who have won at least one Super Bowl championship with two different teams. He was also the special teams coordinator for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL).
The 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 75th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 8th season under leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the first under head coach Mike Tomlin, after going 8–8 last season. The Steelers finished the year at 10–6. However, they lost 31–29 at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round.
The 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 72nd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. It would be the first season the franchise would have under quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He would play 18 seasons as a Steeler, a franchise record.
The 2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 68th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
Swayze Waters is a former gridiron football placekicker and punter. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at UAB. He has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Edmonton Eskimos, Carolina Panthers, and BC Lions.
A fake field goal is a trick play in American football. It involves a running or passing play executed from a field goal formation. Usually, the holder will throw the ball or run with it. Less frequently, the placekicker, who virtually never handles the ball in an American football game, will serve as the passer or rusher.
Timothy James Masthay is a former American football punter who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kentucky. Masthay was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He later won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers over his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Masthay was nicknamed "Ginger Wolverine" by his Packers teammates for his long red sideburns.
Randy Bullock is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football at Texas A&M, and was recognized as the nation's best college football kicker and a consensus All-American. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft, after winning college football's Lou Groza Award.
Christopher Lynn Boswell is an American professional football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rice and was signed by the Houston Texans in 2014 as an undrafted free agent and has also spent time with the New York Giants. He is currently the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history on field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.
Matthew Wright is an American professional football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). Wright played college football at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the Colley Matrix. He was a member of the 2022 Kansas City Chiefs team who won Super Bowl LVII over the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 38–35.
Nick Sciba is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Wake Forest.
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| National | |
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