Sean Payton added a familiar face to his new Denver Broncos coaching staff.
The Broncos hired Ben Kotwica as special teams coordinator and Mike Westhoff as assistant head coach, who will oversee special teams. Senior NFL writer Jeff Legwold, who covers the Broncos for ESPN, reported the news Friday.
“Have been told Mike Westhoff has signed deal to be assistant head coach for Broncos and will oversee special teams with Ben Kotwica having been hired as special teams coordinator,” Legwold wrote in a tweet.
Have been told Mike Westhoff has signed deal to be assistant head coach for Broncos and will oversee special teams with Ben Kotwica having been hired as special teams coordinator…
And Kotwica is now second former helicopter pilot to be Broncos ST coach — so was Mike Priefer.
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) February 17, 2023
The 75-year-old Westhoff had retired after 2019 after he served as Payton’s special teams coordinator with the New Orleans Saints from 2017-18. Prior to that, Wetshoff coordinated the New York Jets special teams from 2001-12, overlapping with then-head coach Rex Ryan from 2009-12. Ryan was rumored to be the favorite for the Broncos’ defensive coordinator vacancy, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.
Many considered Westhoff to be among one of the more heralded special teams coordinators in modern NFL history.
While Kotwica has never coached on a Payton-led staff, Westhoff watched over him from 2007-12 with the Jets. Westhoff eventually promoted Kotwica as his assistant. The Jets hired him at the position in 2013 and then had stints as the Commanders‘ and Falcons‘ special teams coordinator. Kotwica was most recently the Minnesota Vikings‘ assistant special teams coach.
Sean Payton is putting together quite the staff as the Broncos look to rebound from an abysmal 2022 campaign.
