Broncos dismiss special-teams coordinator Kotwica

Ben Kotwica oversaw a special-teams improvement during his two years on the job for the Denver Broncos. But that wasn’t enough to keep him in his position.

As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Broncos parted ways with Kotwica, moving on from him not even five days after his unit successfully executed a fake punt to keep a first-half drive alive in the wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The move also comes two months after assistant head coach and longtime special-teams guru Mike Westhoff departed the Broncos due to a potential health issue. Westhoff worked with Kotwica over a decade ago with the New York Jets, spurring the reunion on Payton’s staff.

Special-teams assistant Chris Banjo, a former player for Payton in New Orleans, is expected to remain with the team.

There were some special-teams issues for the Broncos in 2024, both of which proved costly. In Kansas City on Nov. 10, the protection for Wil Lutz’s 35-yard game-winning field-goal attempt broke down, leading to a block that prevented Denver from what would have been its first win at Arrowhead Stadium in nine years.

In the wake of the defeat, Payton said on a conference call with Denver-area media that responsibility for the block wasn’t just on Alex Forsyth, whose spot Kansas City chose to attack after Forsyth had hit the ground a slew of occasions in previous weeks.

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“This isn’t on the player. This is on all of us. This is on us as coaches,” Payton said. “We’ve got to continue to look at hey, you know are we big enough stature-wise there for that And understanding how the rush was coming.”

Five-and-a-half weeks later, Tremon Smith was called for fair-catch interference on a punt in the dying seconds of the first half. That led to a fair-catch free-kick field goal that allowed the Los Angeles Chargers to steal three points before halftime.

Another factor involved could be the availability of Darren Rizzi, the Saints special-teams coordinator who served as New Orleans’ interim head coach down the stretch last season. Rizzi worked three seasons under Payton (2019-21) guiding the Saints’ special teams, then added assistant head coach to his title after Payton departed and was replaced by longtime Saints assistant and former Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

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