In what can be characterized as a pivotal offseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team has finally made an addition to its coaching staff. With the fan base waiting to learn who will be the team’s next offensive coordinator, the Bucs have landed on veteran coach Danny Smith as the franchise’s next special teams coordinator.
This isn’t the announcement fans were waiting on, but the special teams opening was a vacancy that needed to be filled, and Tampa Bay filled it with one of the best available candidates. Now, with Smith on staff, the Bucs will finish filling out the rest of the recently-decimated coaching staff.
The #Buccaneers are hiring veteran special teams coordinator Danny Smith, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Now 50 years into his coaching career, Smith is still going and still considered one of the best in the biz. On to Tampa for the 72-year-old, gum-chewing Smith. pic.twitter.com/Apn4dYj71q
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 20, 2026
Buccaneers hire Danny Smith as special teams coordinator
Smith is one of the longest-tenured, and most respected coaches in the league. At 72 years old, Tampa Bay’s new special teams coordinator landed his first NFL job back in 1995. That job was special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. After four years in Philly, he spent two seasons with the Detroit Lions as the tight ends coach — the one stop in his career where he wasn’t coordinating special teams.
The veteran coach got back to his niche in 2001, serving as the Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator for three years. He would then hold the same role in Washington for nine seasons, and do it even longer with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 13 years. Now, he’s bringing his show to Tampa Bay.
The hire of Smith addresses a major need for the Buccaneers, who were abysmal on special teams throughout the 2025 season. Things were so bad that the Bucs were admittedly putting themselves at a disadvantage, in certain phases, to avoid further disaster. That led to fans and media members asking why Bowles wouldn’t just fire former special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey during the season.
Bowles and the team waited until after the season to start making all their changes, and now they have a new special teams coordinator in Danny Smith. The next step, and most important one, is hiring an offensive coordinator. If Tampa Bay gets the hire right, the team should be able to reclaim the top spot in the NFC South, and get right back in the mix for a Super Bowl.