“Danny Smith Forever” might be an Alex Kozora thing, but it’s also a Pittsburgh Steelers thing. The organization and head coach Mike Tomlin obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for their special teams coordinator. His units may not get everything right every time, but that’s the nature of the third phase. The year-to-year personnel consistency is rare, and the Steelers keep more special-teamers than most.
But it pays off, and we are seeing that quite evidently in the first half of this season. Through seven games, the Steelers have three blocks—one punt and two field goals, including one on Sunday. And they should have had a fourth block on an extra point, but the officials incorrectly called a leverage penalty.
“They’re changing the game right now”, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said of their special teams units and their coach, Danny Smith, on his Footbahlin podcast. “The Steelers’ special teams, Danny [Smith] and the rest of the guys out there, the way that the guys are blocking stuff—and they fight for Danny because they love and respect him.
“It’s been so much fun watching Danny do his thing and then get attacked”. To clear up any confusion, Roethlisberger is referring to the Steelers’ special teamers swarming him after a blocked kick on Sunday.
“I said, ‘Danny, are you sore today?’. He goes, ‘Yeah! They beat me up! I kept telling them to leave me alone!’. I said, ‘Danny, you love that stuff’. So, Danny Smith, keep doing your thing. It’s fun watching you, brother”.
The Steelers hired Danny Smith as their special teams coordinator in 2013, and he is now 12 years in. He has coached special teams at the NFL level since 1995, with the Eagles, Bills, and Commanders. Prior to Pittsburgh, he spent nine years in Washington, a town allergic to stability.
Beyond his coaching skills, Danny Smith is also known as something of a character. The Steelers special teams coordinator has, let’s say, an affinity for chewing gum. For those who attend training camp, you are also aware that he is easily audible.
The Steelers more than most organizations respect special teams in general, and their coordinator particularly. They make sure that they supply him with talent, including All-Pro special teamer Miles Killebrew. They have had many very good aces over the years, even bringing back Tyler Matakevich this season.
Most fans pay little attention to special teams unless something goes wrong. They complain when their teams complete their 53-man rosters and they keep a “special teamer” over some random depth player who made a few plays during the preseason and clearly has “potential”.
But when you get results from special teams like the Steelers do, it gets harder to argue. They have, of course, one of the best kickers in NFL history in Chris Boswell, who is having an excellent year. He leads the league with 19 field goals on 20 attempts, his only miss from 62. And even after losing Cameron Johnston for the season, Corliss Waitman has saved the punting game.
