A quality control coach is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team whose primary job is preparing the team for a game, beginning sometimes two or three weeks before the actual game. Their primary duties include preparing for the game by analyzing game film for statistical analysis.
Quality control coach is typically an entry-level position for National Football League (NFL) coaches before moving on to positional jobs and coordinator positions; Jon Gruden started as a quality control coach and later became a Super Bowl-winning head coach.
There are three different types of quality control teams: offensive, defensive, and special teams. Offensive quality control will chart the upcoming teams' defense for various down and distance situations, field positions and how many times they use particular personnel groupings. Defensive quality control will do similar analysis of the offense. Special teams quality control will figure out what players are used in various special situations such as kickoff and punt.
On January 20, 2016, the Buffalo Bills hired Kathryn Smith as their special teams quality control coach, making her the first full-time female coach in NFL history.