The Pittsburgh Steelers will have a new head coach in 2026. They will also have a new special teams coordinator.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the fan favorite coach in Pittsburgh will join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff for next season.
“The Buccaneers are hiring veteran special teams coordinator Danny Smith, sources tell me,” Garafolo wrote on X. “Now 50 years into his coaching career, Smith is still going and still considered one of the best in the biz.
“On to Tampa for 72-year-old, gum-chewing Smith.”
Smith served as Steelers special teams coordinator under Mike Tomlin from 2013-25. It was Smith’s longest tenure of his coaching career, which dates back to 1976.
Buccaneers Hiring Steelers Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith
Smith, who is a Pittsburgh native and coached defensive backs at Central Catholic High School in Western Pennsylvania from 1977-78, became a Steelers treasure during his tenure under Tomlin.
The special teams coordinator was known for his wild gum chewing and celebrations on the sidelines. The Steelers often had elite special teams play under Smith as well.
In Smith’s 13 seasons, Pittsburgh routinely blocked kicks. The Steelers have also featured one of the best kickers in the league, Chris Boswell, since 2015.
Smith isn’t leaving the Steelers because the franchise didn’t want him to return. The organization released all coaches of their contracts, though, following Tomlin’s resignation.
If any assistant is going to return to Pittsburgh in 2026, the next head coach will have to hire them. The Steelers are currently going through their due diligence of hiring their next head coach.
Smith elected to take the job in Tampa rather than see if he still had a role with the Steelers.
Where Steelers Special Teams Unit Could Improve in 2026
While the Steelers special teams unit was a strong group in several areas, it didn’t excel everywhere. One place where it didn’t was in the kick return game.
With news of Smith heading to Tampa Bay surfacing Tuesday afternoon, Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora detailed the team’s struggles with kick returning.
“Pittsburgh has been abysmal under the dynamic kickoff change,” Kozora wrote on social media. “32nd in KR average last year. 28th this year. ‘Long’ of 37.
“No juice, no big plays. Not helping the offense.”
Anyone who has watched the Steelers offense the past couple seasons knows the unit could have used the field position help from the kickoff return team. But that didn’t happen.
The Steelers even gave up points on kickoff returns. In Week 2 versus the Seattle Seahawks, rookie Kaleb Johnson muffed a kickoff because he appeared to misunderstand the NFL kickoff rules. The Seahawks recovered the muff for a touchdown.
Johnson didn’t return kickoffs after that mistake. Fellow running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell returned kickoffs by the end of the season.
It’s unusual for a team to feature both of its top running backs in that role. But in 2025, Warren and Gainwell appeared to be the team’s best options on kickoff returns.
The top priority for whomever becomes Pittsburgh’s next special teams coordinator is to improve the kickoff return team.
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