Tyler Matakevich established himself as a special teams ace during his first four-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Under special teams coordinator Danny Smith, he garnered a reputation around the league that translated in free agency. In 2020, he signed a two-year contract worth over $7 million with the Buffalo Bills.
This offseason, Matakevich signed back with the Steelers following a four-year hiatus, happy to reunite with Danny Smith. Speaking with Dale Lolley on SNR Drive, he spoke glowingly of his coordinator in an episode posted on Wednesday.
“He’s special, man. He’s been here for years. He changed my life, personally, so I owe that guy everything”, Matakevich said of Smith. “I just think it’s the way he coaches, the way he carries himself. He gets guys bought in. Guys care about it.
“You see his passion and how much Danny Smith cares about it. You don’t want to let that guy down. That’s definitely the mentality. I know I’ve got that mentality every time I’m out there. That’s the last thing I want to do is let my guy make the tackle just because I don’t want to let him down”.
The Steelers under Danny Smith are currently on a three-game blocking streak. In Week 5, OLB Jeremiah Moon blocked a punt. Over the past two weeks, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Dean Lowry each blocked field goal attempts. Earlier in last Sunday’s game, Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked an extra point that the officials incorrectly negated via a leverage penalty.
Of course, Danny Smith’s units are not a one-year success story. He has been here for over a decade, and they tend to make more splash plays than most. Matakevich had his share of them when he was first here. He had a block or two himself, and a pass defensed on a fake punt.
The Steelers also have a current All-Pro special teamer in Miles Killebrew, while Danny Smith has had All-Pros or Pro Bowlers in Chris Boswell and Diontae Johnson. Matakevich never made the Pro Bowl, but perhaps he could have. They have also had aces like Darrius Heyward-Bey, Roosevelt Nix, and Jordan Dangerfield—the guys the Steelers kept around despite the complaint of fans.
But Danny Smith is the common denominator because he sets the table for his players’ success. “There’s never a situation when you get into a game where you’re like, ‘Oh man, I haven’t seen this’”, Tyler Matakevich said. “No, you know what’s coming. He does an excellent job of preparing you so that by the time you get to the game you can just play fast”.
The Steelers are doing that, not just on special teams but it might be particularly evident there. They play with a level of aggressiveness that perhaps no other team matches. In terms of impact plays from blocking units, certainly, nobody produces like Danny Smith. And Matakevich has seen that first-hand more than almost anybody.
