Ed Reed, Kathryn Smith among 14 assistants not returning to Bills
A number of assistants from Rex Ryan's staff are officially on the way out as Sean McDermott takes over as head coach.
The Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday that Dennis Thurman, Ed Reed, Kathryn Smith, Bobby April, John Blake, Aaron Kromer, David Lee, D’Anton Lynn, Tim McDonald, Pat Meyer, Chris Palmer, Eric Smith, Jason Vrable, and Jeff Weeks will not be retained in 2017.
Thurman was virtually assured to be on the way out after McDermott hired Leslie Frasier as his defensive coordinator, so the most notable names on the list are Reed and Smith.
Reed, a longtime Baltimore Ravens safety who will eventually be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, made the transition to coaching by joining the Bills as an assistant defensive backs coach last offseason.
Buffalo made Smith the NFL's first full-time female coach by bringing her in as a special teams quality control coach in in 2016.