‘McDermott confirmed the firing of special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley. At his end-of-season press conference, McDermott had voiced his confidence in Smiley and said that he would be back. Shortly after, reports came out that Smiley had been fired. McDermott clarified that he wanted to fully sort through the decision before finalizing it. “Yeah, I did. I can confirm that,” McDermott said Monday. “It’s a hard business, right? Unfortunate part of the business, but a hard part of my job. And those decisions are hard decisions. And so, I know what I said after the season there, and for me, it’s wanting to take my time and go through it and making sure that I fully evaluate the position, but also where we need to go with that position. And so that was the reason for the timing on it. Matthew Smiley, he’s a heck of a person, a heck of a coach, and I can’t thank him and his family enough.”’