Bills' Kathryn Smith surprised by Rex Ryan's job offer

Newly hired Buffalo Bills assistant coach Kathryn Smith wasn't expecting Rex Ryan to ask her to become the first full-time female assistant in the NFL.

"I was surprised at first, but I also know Rex really puts a lot of faith in his staff and his people, so from that standpoint it made sense knowing I've worked with Rex directly and indirectly for a number of years," Smith told the team's official website Thursday in her first public comments since she was hired Wednesday. "So he knows my work ethic and what I've done in the past, but it was a bit surprising that he came to me with this."

Smith acknowledged the Cardinals' hiring of Jen Welter during training camp and made it clear that many other women have broken down barriers in NFL organizations before her.

"There are so many other females in very important roles in football organizations, whether it's in administration, athletic trainers, public relations, so many departments have women," Smith said. "Kim Pegula, for example, is our owner. I'm an entry-level coach. So yes, I might be the first coach, but I'm not the only woman in the building or dealing with the coaches or players on a daily basis. So that's how I'm looking at it."

As a special teams quality control assistant, Smith will be spending most of the offseason breaking down film on 2016 opponents. According to the Bills, once the season rolls around she'll be "heavily involved in readying the Bills scout team for practice every week to help prepare the starting special teams units for that week’s opponent."