Broncos aim to fix special teams with a unique…

Broncos aim to fix special teams with a unique coaching staff

Special teams have been a disaster for the Denver Broncos in recent seasons.

So it’s no surprise that new head coach Sean Payton made it a priority to completely overall the club’s special teams units this offseason — from the coaching staff to the players, just about everything is new.

One of Payton’s biggest hires was Mike Westhoff, a 75-year-old coach who came out of retirement to help with Payton’s special teams project. Westhoff is officially listed as the club’s assistant head coach, but he is expected to focus on special teams.

The official special teams coach is coordinator Ben Kotwica, who worked with Westhoff with the New York Jets from 2007-2012. Kotwica’s assistant special teams coach will be Chris Banjo, a former safety who just retired this spring and is transitioning to coaching.

It’s a unique staff.

“Mike and I worked together and had a lot of success together during our days in New York with the Jets,” Kotwica said on June 14. “He’s been doing it for such a long time, and he’s been a great mentor and friend. You have Mike on that side of the spectrum, who has been doing it for 30-plus years. Then, you have Coach Banjo, who has been doing it for about three weeks. I’m somewhere in the middle, and that dynamic has been excellent.

“Everybody brings things that are different to the table. So far, so good. There is common language, and it’s been good discussion as far as making our unit better.”

Westhoff has more seniority and he will undoubtedly have a say on special teams decisions, but he’ll work together with Kotwica, the official special teams coordinator.

“Mike has been doing it for such a long time, so we’re using his knowledge and expertise,” Kotwica said. “We have such a great working relationship, whether it’s in meetings or certain things that he’ll take over and talk about or certain things that I’ll talk about. We get on to the field and we separate things. It’s really been a great partnership so far, and I’m excited about where it’s going to go.”

The Broncos ranked dead last in kickoff return average last season (17.5 yards per return) and 12th-worst on punt returns (8.3 yards). Denver’s field goal success rate (77.8%) ranked fifth-worst in the NFL.

There’s a lot of work to be done on special teams. Westhoff, Kotwica and Banjo will be tasked with getting the unit back on track with the help of some new personnel this fall.