Buccaneers ST Coordinator Smith on Coaching: 'I Need It'
At 72, Danny Smith swaps Pittsburgh for Tampa Bay, passing on retirement to revitalize a struggling unit alongside All-Pro Miles Killebrew and a roster hungry for competition.
New Tampa Bay Buccaneers' special teams coordinator Danny Smith could have walked off into the sunset. At 72, Smith was well past the traditional retirement age. When Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, who was Smith's boss for 13 seasons, resigned at the end of last season, it would have been reasonable to think that Smith would have left the Steelers and coaching altogether.
Half of that happened. Indeed, Tomlin's assistants were told to seek new employment, which effectively ended Smith's time with the Steelers. But Smith wasn't looking to retire, and it just so happened that the Buccaneers needed a new special teams coordinator.
Less than two weeks after Tomlin resigned, the Bucs hired Smith. For Smith, retiring was never an option. Bucs special teams coordinator Danny Smith was asked what keeps him going at age 72: “I don’t know anything but.
I need competition and preparation. I need it. I need it in my life.