The Bucs special teams unit did not just struggle in 2025; it sabotaged the team’s margin for error. Blocked kicks and poor kickoff coverage led to Tampa Bay losing the field position battle, swinging a couple of games away from them. Those miscues cost special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey his job leading that phase of the game.

Now?

Things have changed substantially.

While the focus is understandably on offense and defense, special teams is a vital part of dictating the outcomes of close games in 2026. To do so, special teams coordinator Danny Smith will be tasked with improving things, and he will have some help.

Jason Licht And Todd Bowles Have Raved About Danny Smith, Miles Killebrew

The Bucs are banking on internal improvement to do the heavy lifting in 2026 from a talent standpoint, but that does not mean a couple of external additions will not have a significant impact. To that end, Tampa Bay’s special teams will rely heavily on Danny Smith.

Bucs ST Coordinator Danny Smith – Photo by IMAGN Images – Kirby Lee

Smith has solely been an NFL special teams coach since 2001, spending time with the Bills, Redskins, Steelers, and now the Bucs. It was his time in Pittsburgh that earned him the most fanfare, as much of the team’s year-over-year consistency was a product of coaching.

His lengthy tenure in the league drew a lot of praise from head coach Todd Bowles at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. Bowles even mentioned him in the same breath as legendary coach Tom Moore, who retired earlier this offseason.

“A lot of energy in the building,” Bowles said about what Smith brings. “He might be the only one to outcoach coach [Tom] Moore, in my opinion. He’s got a lot of energy; he’s been in the game a long time. He’s very smart, he’s very bright, and he can get the most of guys. He’s going to hold everybody accountable. I look forward to seeing him coach.”

Asked about what kind of imprint Smith will make, general manager Jason Licht shared his thoughts on him and the entire unit.

“We’ll start with Danny Smith, one of the better special teams coaches the league has seen,” Licht said. “Having him and his energy has been awesome. We already talked about Miles [Killebrew] and Ko [Kieft] being what we call a middleweight special teams player. He brings it every play, and he was somebody that jumped off the tape right away for Coach Smith. Kenny Gainwell has also been a very good returner, but also a special teams cover guy that really takes a lot of pride in doing that.

“That’s one thing that Danny Smith brings out in players. He gets them excited, which can be sometimes a mundane role for some, but when he’s coaching, they seem to have a lot of excitement and pride in their job, which leads me to think that our special teams are going to be very, very good this year with those additions.”

Bucs S/ST ace Miles Killebrew – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Mark Konezny

Killebrew is especially someone who will help set the tone and pass on his knowledge in a crucial position of the game. While listed as a safety, he has carved out a successful NFL career as a special teams menace. His resume as a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro speaks for itself.

“Miles Killebrew has been one of the top special teams players in this league for a while,” Licht added. “Danny Smith has been knocking down my door since he first got here, talking about what kind of attitude and what kind of energy he brings as a captain of a special teams unit and how much passion he puts into his role, which then bleeds into others. That’s something I’m really looking forward to.”

Danny Smith’s Teaching Will Help Clean Up Bucs Special Teams

With those two now in town, there will be less worry about how the group will fare next season. Many of the fundamental mistakes from last season will be cleaned up through the teaching of someone who has seen it all. Instead of getting kicks blocked, expect the Bucs to be hungry to block kicks themselves.

Bucs ST Coordinator Danny Smith – Photo by IMAGN Images – Brian Fluharty

Chase McLaughlin remains as one of the best kickers in the league and following a strong finish to the year by Riley Dixon, the specialists are set, too. Danny Smith will likely have the final say about rounding out the roster with players who take to his coaching methods.

What should be music to Bucs fans ears is what Smith had to say last June about the importance of winning the field position battle.

It will be aspects of the game like this that will swing games in Tampa Bay’s favor, if it goes as well as Jason Licht and the rest of the organization anticipates.

“This is a game of field position,” Smith said. “We need better field position. You know, all over the field. I take those as team issues. You want to play good defense, give good field position. It’s hard to drive a ball 90 yards against any defense… Same thing on offense. You know, we talk about more points, more points, more points. You want to score more points, give them better field position. I take those as team issues, and I want the special teams unit to take them as team issues.

“They’re not offensive issues to me. They’re team issues to me. And I think that’s the whole thing you can take in a special teams game, penalties, turnovers and field position. And you could argue the order of those three things; you put them in any order you want. Okay, field position, penalties and turnovers. If you’re going to be good in those three, you will be pretty good.”

It is hard to argue with Danny Smith’s logic and the results that precede him as he takes over the Bucs special teams operations. Smith will not accept anything less than the best, and that will immediately clean up the issues that held them back.