Danny Smith Expected to Join Steelers

[MTK]

Some good insight on Smith from John Keim's latest email report:

Danny Smith’s departure

» I know fans did not like Danny Smith much of the time, and I know the rankings suggested a unit that was mediocre. I’ve never been a big fan of special teams rankings because so much goes into special teams — it’s tough to blame a special teams coach for Billy Cundiff’s misses, for example — that are beyond any coach’s control. The Redskins didn’t always do the special teams many favors by keeping, for example, seven receivers who contributed nothing to special teams except for returner Brandon Banks. Who, it should be pointed out, contributed little.

It also didn’t help last season that when Kedric Golston went down, backup offensive linemen (Erik Cook) could not block on special teams. A special teams coach has no choice but to play Cook because that’s who others want on the roster. It’s the way of life for pretty much every special teams coach.

In Pittsburgh, from what I’ve heard, Smith will have more input into the roster – getting one defensive player and one offensive player of his choosing. He did not have that sort of power in Washington. Part of the allure, too, was returning to his hometown, where his father still lives. He’s also good friends with general manager Kevin Colbert, knows coach Mike Tomlin and has worked with defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau in the past. Also, keep in mind that all his coaching friends in Washington were gone; Smith was the last of the Joe Gibbs II regime.

» That’s not to leave Smith blameless by any means, nor is it to blame any woes on other coaches. Ultimately your job is to produce a strong unit, and the Redskins were not a dominant special teams group. I get that. Other special teams coaches work under tough constraints. I get that, too. This year, the return game was not as productive, in part because Banks did nothing. The rest of the special teams were solid. The kick coverage was pretty good considering the line-drive kicks from Kai Forbath. I also know five blocked field goals is impossible to defend, even if you can explain each one.

» But while fans were blasting Smith, other teams kept calling him to join their organization. There were a number that requested permission and were denied; a handful more would call to feel him out. And his players swore by him, too. I’ve covered a half dozen or so special teams coaches; none received the amount of respect Smith did from his players. To a man, they all talked about his attention to detail.

» One person who worked with Smith in the past said of him, “There would be a parade of players walking into his office every day in the offseason or in season just to see how he’s doing. I’ve never seen a coach get that much love from his players the way Danny does. And he doesn’t covet it. It’s just the way his personality is and the way he phrases things that makes players buy in and follow him.”

» Smith was nice to the media, but he was not always helpful, so any assertion that the media says nice things about him — or simply adds balance to the conversation — is because he’s “good to us” is far from fact. In fact, his last group interview occurred in August, and he did one more early in the season with the Washington Post. After that? He avoided the press. A regular scene: After practices, when every other player and coach would walk past the media into the facility, Smith would walk 100 or so yards up a hill to a side entrance and avoid us all together. That never went over well.

» It’s a bit different to lose two coaches to lateral moves (Ike Hilliard as receivers coach now in Buffalo) after such a good season and with a promising group. There’s still no word yet as to who will replace either coach. Lorenzo Alexander endorsed special teams assistant Richard Hightower, but this would be his first time in charge. Whoever comes in won’t have a tough act to follow in the eyes of the fans. The players will view it differently.