Bills ST coordinator breaks down new kickoff rule: 'No one has ever done it'

Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley spoke about the new NFL kickoff rules ahead of Sunday's training camp practice.

Kyle Silagyi | Jul 28, 2024

Feb 16, 2020; Carson, California, USA; General overall view of kickoff at the start of the second half of the XFL game between the LA Wildcats and the Dallas Renegades Dignity Health Sports Park. The Renegades defeated the Wildcats 25-18. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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NFL fans who neglect to track league developments throughout the offseason will be in for quite a shock when they tune into their preferred team’s Week 1 bout.

The NFL adopted new kickoff rules in the 2024 offseason, an overhaul of its previous longstanding system that, per the league, led to “an unacceptable injury rate.” The new rules will be similar to the ones previously deployed by the XFL; the ball will still be kicked from the 35-yard line, but the rest of the kicking team will now line up on the opponent’s 40-yard line. The opposing team will line nine blockers up between their 30-and-35-yard lines while two returners will line up inside the 20-yard line.

It’s a complex change that dramatically overhauls both the kickoff itself and the philosophy and strategy behind it. Special teams coordinators around the league have been attempting to wrap their heads around it and develop new strategies throughout the spring, but it’s difficult given just how new the rule is.

Buffalo Bills coordinator Matthew Smiley referred to the overhaul as “uncharted territory” while speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s training camp practice, detailing how he’s adapted to the rule change thus far.

“There’s so much humility that got to be baked into this deal because no one has ever done it,” Smiley said. “I know it’s similar to the XFL but even some of the rule changes that are different between what we’re getting ready to do and what the XFL did makes for new wrinkles, too. So even watching that film, while helpful, it’s not going to be exactly the same.

“A bunch of research, a bunch of brainstorming, the spring was very helpful working through some things and incorporating the guys in the room, the players are underestimated a lot of times for how much football they know, how smart they are, how creative they are. We had times during the spring when we said, ‘Hey, what do you guys see in here? What do you think?’ Experimenting in the spring and really trying to learn and see where the issues are and see how we can capitalize both ways.”

Part of what’s making this process so difficult for not only Smiley, but all special teams coordinators is the lack of familiarity coaches have with this entirely new rule. NFL coaches and coordinators generally have a lengthy Rolodex they can reference with regard to previous experience with opposition or certain situations—that’s now eliminated league-wide.

Bills special teams coach Matthew Smiley gets his players organized to run a play during practice. / Jamie Germano/Democrat and Chronicle /

“There is no test track,” Smiley said. “It can’t be, ‘Hey, when I was back at Eastern Illinois in 2009, we did this thing that I think kind of worked.’ There’s just no, nobody’s ever done anything like it.”

Smiley won’t have a solid understanding of the intricacies of the new rule until midway through the 2024 campaign, as he noted that teams will likely keep their schematic wrinkles close to the vest in the preseason. He also stated that teams will be on “pins and needles” throughout the three-game stretch as they attempt to glean information as to how other teams are adapting to the new rule.

Fans will have their first opportunity to see the new kickoff rule in action on Thursday, August 1 when the Chicago Bears take on the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game. The Buffalo faithful will see it for the first time in the team’s Week 1 preseason contest with Chicago on August 10.

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