Games are often won in the margins. Three points can determine a win or defeat. Blocked field goal? Muffed punt? Missed extra point? A gunner forcing a fumble? Those plays can alter the script and shift the momentum pendulum. In conjunction with league trends, special teams has evolved. In the same way that tight ends are asked to block with the stout anchor of a lineman and catch with the diligence of a receiver, or linebackers are tasked with blitzing, defending the run and covering offensive weapons underneath by dropping in coverage, kickers are being asked to do more.
"Players have gotten a lot stronger," said new Bucs' Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith. "People talk a lot about the ball and how it has a chip in it now and it did not used to and that is why it changed and this is why this, but I am not a believer in that. Maybe that has had a minor influence in it but I think it is the players. It is the expertise of the operation – snapper, holder, kicker – and at every position. Receivers are faster. Quarterbacks throw the ball further. Kickers kick the ball longer. The athletes have improved over time on their skillset and offensive linemen are bigger and offensive linemen are stronger. Defensive linemen are quicker. Naturally, if the kicker is doing his job, he has become stronger. The snap is better and the operation has become more precise and as result, the production is better. It is not just one thing."
In March of 2024, the NFL changed its rules on how a kickoff and subsequent return will be handled. In the revised rules, the kicker still kicks off from his own 35, but he is by himself at that spot. The other 10 players on the coverage team must have one foot on the return team's 40-yard line. Additionally, either nine or 10 players on the return team must have one foot on their 35-yard line. None of those players can leave their stationary post until the kick is caught or hits the ground. If the ball falls in the "landing zone" – the area between the goal line and the 20-yard line - it has to be returned. If it is downed in the end zone it comes out to the 30 and if it hits the ground before the landing zone then it comes out to the 40. If it hits in the landing zone and then bounces into the end zone for a touchback, it comes out to the 20. The goal was to promote more returns and generate more excitement.
"I was on the committee of eight people," noted Smith. "We did not have a vote in it, we proposed the things to people on the competition committee that get with ownership and pass it or don't pass it and to be honest with you, we were told, 'We want to get the kickoff and kickoff return back in the game but it has to be a safety factor. But if it is not, we are going to roll it out.' Think about that. If they rule out the kickoffs and kickoff returns, you do not need special teams' coaches and they don't need special teams' players. It affects a lot of people and their jobs. So, we thought, 'Damn, we better come up with something.' We came up with this format and it has been effective. It is what it is and we are doing it so I love it. Our players will too with our approach to it. It is another play in the game an exciting play back in football and you better be able to defend it and be able to return it."
Smith joins the Bucs after spending 13 years as special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomlin. He possesses 31 seasons of NFL experience with stints leading special teams units for the Philadelphia Eagles (1995-98, where he also served as defensive backs coach), the Buffalo Bills (2001-03) and the now-Washington Commanders (2004-2012).
Smith's units were among the league's best in blocked kicks during his time in Pittsburgh, ranking tied for eighth since 2013, with 21. Over the past nine campaigns, the Steelers are tied for the league lead with 17 blocked kicks. Under Smith's tutelage, Miles Killebrew earned consecutive Pro Bowl trips as a special teamer from 2023-24 and leads all active players in career blocked punts (four). Conversely, the Steelers are one of two teams not to allow a blocked punt over the past nine seasons. Since 2013, Pittsburgh surrendered only 12 total blocked kicks of its own, which is tied for the fourth-fewest during that span. In 2025, Smith's kickoff unit limited opposing teams to the fifth-worst starting field position following kickoffs (their own 29.0-yard line), while having the second-lowest touchback rate in the league (8.2%). Over Smith's full tenure in Pittsburgh dating back to 2013, the Steelers enjoyed the league's second-highest field goal percentage (88.0%), ranked fourth in total field goals made (388), and tied for fifth in the NFL with 18 game-winning field goals. He placed an emphasis on the nuanced details involved in blocking a kick and his efforts proved productive.
"There is a process to this," described Smith on the art of blocking kicks. "It is not something that happens overnight. We led the league in blocked kicks for a number of years and had more during a period of time than anybody else and I am proud of those achievements for the players. There will be a time when I sit back and say that was pretty cool but right now, I am happy for them because they bought into it. It is a practice process and it is very precise. It became a culture and I think when you excel at something overtime, it becomes a culture.
"It is a culture that we are going to build here. I had on my board in Pittsburgh that Miles drew up and it is like – there were 1,700 punts – this was a few years back – there were 1,760 punts and there were eight blocked so the percentage of blocking a punt comes out to some crazy percent. It is that difficult to do and there is precision involved. It is not a natural thing so you will see it in some drill work. We will have a session on that on a daily basis. I will show them tape and clips and then we will take it to the field and we will end, start and break-up practices with it. It a step-by-step that I have put together over the years on how to do it. Again, you need players to do it. It isn't just about the process. They carry out that process to accomplish the goal."
Killebrew, a special teams ace, reunites with Smith in Tampa Bay after signing as a free agent on March 12. Overall, he appeared in 151 career games over 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, serving primarily as a special teams specialist, amassing 91 total special teams tackles. Since entering the league in 2016, his 91 special teams' tackles are the second-most in the NFL over that span. The ferocious tackler set the tone in Pittsburgh with his dedication and will bring his technically-sound skillset to the Bucs.
"He is a tireless worker," described Smith on Killebrew. "He took off when we got him and that is when he got his awards and things like that and he deserves every bit of it. He earned them all. He has great natural leadership skills and leads by example with his study habits. He views a lot of tape and knows what he is doing. He knows how to get through to players. You will see people watch him when he works because he just has that ability. There is no wasted reps with him and those guys are hard to come by. Those guys are special. Those are the guys you root for and I am really excited about it. It is a new challenge for him and me and we are taking that challenge together and it is comforting meeting that challenge together. He is a phenomenal player and a phenomenal human being. It will be continued success with him, I am sure."
Special teams is do-or-die and Smith embodies that mentality in his coaching style. Unless iced by a timeout, a kicker has one chance to make it through the uprights. A punter has a single chance to provide his team with positive field position. A returner has one moment to make a tantalizing splash play. They do not have the luxury of living to fight another down because it does not exist. That reality is what breeds exuberance from both Smith and his units.
"On special teams it is a one-play series," noted Smith. "We do not get a second down to get it right or a third down. On first down, you could get sacked for a 15-yard loss and it is second-and-25 but you still have a chance. We have one shot. Our stuff has to be right and tight from the start. Our backs are against the wall. I coach like that; they have to play like that and practice like that. That is what it is. It is that process of understanding that.
"We will be prepared for the hard situation. That will be the first thing we do when I get them on the field. The easy things will come easy. I want them to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations and when you are comfortable in uncomfortable situations on a practice field or a game field, you are pretty good. I mean, I want the first punt to be on the one-yard line, backed up and they rush everybody on the field. That is an uncomfortable situation in our business. I want us to be very comfortable in that situation because we have practiced it so much and prepared so much for it that when it happens, we are ready because pressure is when you ask me to do something that I have not done."
Smith will aim to revitalize the Bucs' special teams unit with a tactical approach. His vision and zeal for the game will spark a new era in Tampa Bay, redefining the third phase to spark growth on the field in 2026.
