The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held a virtual interview with Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith, according to Mark Kaboly on X.

Tampa Bay conducted a virtual interview with Steelers ST coach Danny Smith.

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) January 16, 2026

The Buccaneers confirmed this by officially announcing the interview.

We’ve completed a virtual interview with Danny Smith for our open special teams coordinator position. Smith has served as the Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coordinator for the last 13 seasons.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 16, 2026

With Mike Tomlin stepping down, the Steelers reportedly informed his assistant coaches that they should look for other jobs. They will all be let go unless the next head coach decides to keep some of them.

If there was one assistant to keep, many would point to Danny Smith as the top guy.

Of the roughly 25 coaches on Pittsburgh’s staff, there may be none more beloved than the gum-chewing, fiery ST coordinator who has been around since 2013 as one of the longest tenured coaches on staff. He received a lot of air time this season as the broadcasts caught on to what an interesting character he is on the sidelines.

The Buccaneers fired their ST coordinator Thomas McGaughey as part of a significant staff shakeup following a disappointing season with high expectations. They retained head coach Todd Bowles, but they purged multiple assistants.

There are very few, if any, NFL coaches as experienced as Smith. Getting his first NFL gig in 1995, he has been a ST coach for almost 30 years with a short stint in Detroit Lions as a TE coach in between.

His units have consistently produced Pro Bowl and All-Pro special teamers like Miles Killebrew and most recently Ben Skowronek. In an up-and-down season for both the offense and defense in Pittsburgh, the coverage units and return teams were remarkably consistent. Even in the playoff loss, Smith’s unit more than did its job.

With the Steelers’ HC search set to take weeks, they may lose several assistants before their next head coach even has a chance to evaluate what talent is already on staff. It wouldn’t be shocking if Smith is one of the first to go as one of the best ST coordinators in the NFL.