Kathryn Smith

BUFFALO – The NFL has its first full-time female coach.

Kathryn Smith was promoted by the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday night to take over as special teams quality control coach on Rex Ryan’s staff. She will assist special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and his assistant Eric Smith, filling the role that opened after Michael Hamlin was not retained following the season.

Smith’s appointment comes after Jen Welter served a six-week training camp internship last summer coaching inside linebackers for the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith spent the past season as an administrative assistant for the team’s assistant coaches. She also was the New York Jets player personnel assistant when Ryan took over as coach in 2009. Smith then served as Ryan’s assistant in 2014, his final year in New York before he was fired and then hired by the Bills.

Smith has 13 seasons of NFL experience, and began her career in 2003 as a Jets game-day/special events intern. Two years later, the Jets promoted her to become a college scouting intern, and eventually became the team’s player personnel assistant in 2007.

A person with direct knowledge of the sale process confirmed the winning bid to The Associated Press on Tuesday, hours after late owner Ralph Wilson’s estate announced reaching a “definitive agreement” to sell the team to the Pegulas. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale was conducted privately.

The price well surpasses  the previous high of $1.1 billion set in 2009, when Stephen Ross completed his purchase of the Miami Dolphins.

The person said the Pegulas went well above the Bills’ estimated value of $935 million to show Wilson’s estate how serious they were in their desire to buy the team. They also wanted to submit a bid they felt would be significantly higher than other prospective ownership groups were willing – or capable – of matching.

The Pegulas, who live in Florida, have established roots in adopting Buffalo as their hometown since purchasing the Sabres in February 2011. Terry Pegula is from Pennsylvania and became a fan of the Sabres in the mid-1970s. Kim is from the nearby Rochester area.

The sale is subject approval by a three-quarters majority of the NFL’s other 31 owners, which is expected to come at league meetings Oct. 8.

Congressman Brian Higgins, and members of the Buffalo Fan Alliance and local fan movement the Bills Mafia, who have strongly urged the NFL to reconsider any blackout policies, hailed the progress as a victory for fans.

Higgins said the news is a game-changer for football enthusiasts in Buffalo and across the nation. He also said that when the FCC had its comment period, Buffalo was by far and away the largest market to write into the FCC to express their opinion that the blackout rule should be changed.

The NFL has a policy of blacking out games that are not sold out to the home market.  The policy dates back to a 1961 federal law requires broadcasters (networks) to abide by the League’s blackout policy.