Broncos shake up their coaching staff, possibly leading to Sean Payton reuniting with a former assistant
The Denver Broncos have fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. Payton hired Kotwica when he arrived in Denver in 2023. Wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. has been named an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler each of the last two years as a return specialist with Kotwica at the helm of the […]
The Denver Broncos have fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
Payton hired Kotwica when he arrived in Denver in 2023. Wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. has been named an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler each of the last two years as a return specialist with Kotwica at the helm of the Broncos' special teams unit, and kicker Will Lutz made 31-34 field goal attempts and was a perfect 46-46 on PAT attempts.
Punter Riley Dixon also had a solid year, including pulling off a successful fake punt as he completed a pass to Mims and picked up a first down. However, there were some hiccups from Kotwica's special teams unit, including a blocked field goal as time expired against the Kansas City Chiefs, and cornerback Tremon Smith running into the punter during a Thursday Night loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The move to fire Kotwica seems like less of an indictment on him and more of Payton wanting to reunite with Darren Rizzi, who Rapoport named as a potential replacement. Rizzi served as Payton's special teams coordinator with the New Orleans Saints from 2019-2021.
Following the firing of Dennis Allen in early November, Rizzi took over as the Saints' interim head coach, compiling a 3-5 record. Rizzi has had interviews with multiple teams that have head coaching vacancies, but it remains to be see if he'll land one. If he doesn't, it certainly makes a lot of sense for him to rejoin Payton and become Denver's new special teams coordinator.
Payton has hired several of his former assistants from New Orleans, so this move doesn't come as too big of a surprise. As for Kotwica, he shouldn't have any problem bouncing back and finding another job. He has been a special teams coordinator for four different NFL teams and has been an assistant coach in the league for 17 years.
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The Broncos got a tough one.
