text: Uncredited/Associated Press 
   
   The Buffalo Bills have announced the hiring of Kathryn Smith as a quality control assistant under head coach Rex Ryan, which makes her "the first full-time female assistant coach in NFL history." 
   
   The team announced a statement regarding the news, via Josh Reed of WIVB Sports: 
   
   Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported the news Wednesday. Smith will report to special teams coordinator Danny Crossman. 
   
   Smith issued a statement on Thursday regarding the news, via NFL on ESPN: 
   
   "I just like the way she is," head coach Rex Ryan said Friday, per Joe Buscaglia of WKBW. "She's really all about the team and how she can help. Exceeded what we thought she'd do." 
   
   She has been part of Ryan's staff for the last seven years but never officially as part of the coaching staff. She held an administrative assistant position each of the last two seasons, and before that she worked within the New York Jets' player personnel department. 
   
   Smith's hiring is a monumental moment for gender progress in the NFL, and it's been a long time coming. Jen Welter became the NFL's first female assistant of any kind before the 2015 season, serving under head coach Bruce Arians during training camp. Her position was temporary—teams regularly hire additional assistants on a temp basis to handle the extra players in camp—but it nonetheless opened a door Smith will walk through. 
   
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   Last year, the NFL also hired Sarah Thomas as the first female referee in history. She worked as a full-time official during the 2015 season. 
   
   While this is a promising step, the NFL is not the first league to welcome women into the coaches box. The NBA has long been at the forefront of the gender equality issue. Lisa Boyer was a volunteer assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2001-02, and the San Antonio Spurs hired Becky Hammon as an assistant before the 2014-15 campaign. Nancy Lieberman became the second full-time female assistant in the NBA in 2015. 
   
   In September, the Oakland Athletics made Justine Siegal the first woman to hold a coaching position with an MLB team. As it stands, the NHL is the only one of the United States' four major professional sports leagues yet to make a major step on the gender equality front. 
   
   Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter ||||| The Buffalo Bills' news release on the hiring of Kathryn Smith: 
   
   The Buffalo Bills today announced that Kathryn Smith has been named the team’s special teams quality control coach. 
   
   Smith is the first female to be named to a full-time coaching position in NFL history. 
   
   “Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff,” said Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan. “She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she’s going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams.” 
   
   “Kathryn has been working in a football administrative role and assisted the assistant coaches for years. She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity. She will work with Danny Crossman and Eric Smith involving a number of responsibilities.” 
   
   “I consulted with Bruce Arians on this since he was really the first NFL head coach to make this kind of move when he hired a female linebackers coach through the summer. You can see the success some of these young ladies are having in the coaching profession, such as the young lady that is an assistant to Coach (Greg) Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization.” 
   
   Smith, who will enter her 14th year in the NFL next season, joins the Bills coaching ranks after spending 2015 as the team’s administrative assistant to the head coach. 
   
   Prior to joining the Bills in 2015, Smith spent 12 seasons working for the New York Jets. Smith originally began her career in 2003 as a Jets gameday/special events intern. She became a college scouting intern in 2005 before being promoted to player personnel assistant in 2007 and going on to be named assistant to the head coach in 2014. ||||| The Buffalo Bills today announced that Kathryn Smith has been named the team’s quality control-special teams coach. 
   
   Smith is the first female to be named to a full-time coaching position in NFL history. 
   
   “Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff,” said Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan. “She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she’s going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams.” 
   
   “Kathryn has been working in a football administrative role and assisted the assistant coaches for years. She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity. She will work with Danny Crossman and Eric Smith involving a number of responsibilities.” 
   
   “I consulted with Bruce Arians on this since he was really the first NFL head coach to make this kind of move when he hired a female linebackers coach through the summer. You can see the success some of these young ladies are having in the coaching profession, such as the young lady that is an assistant to Coach (Gregg) Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization.” 
   
   Smith, who will enter her 14th year in the NFL next season, joins the Bills coaching ranks after spending 2015 as the team’s administrative assistant to the head coach. 
   
   Prior to joining the Bills in 2015, Smith spent 12 seasons working for the New York Jets. Smith originally began her career in 2003 as a Jets gameday/special events intern. She became a college scouting intern in 2005 before being promoted to player personnel assistant in 2007 and going on to be named assistant to the head coach in 2014.
target: – The Buffalo Bills made a power run through a glass ceiling on Wednesday by hiring Kathryn Smith, the first full-time female member of coaching staff in NFL history. Smith, who has worked in the NFL since 2003 and joined the Bills last year as an administrative assistant to head coach Rex Ryan, is the new special teams quality control coach, reports the Buffalo News. She started out at the New York Jets, where she became a player personnel assistant in 2007 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach in 2014. "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she's going to do a great job serving in the role of quality control-special teams," Ryan said in a Bills press release. Her hire is a big step for the NFL, Bleacher Report notes, although there are already full-time female coaches in MLB and the NBA, leaving the NHL with some catching up to do. (Last summer, the Arizona Cardinals made Jen Welter the first woman to hold any kind of coaching position in the NFL.)