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Jeff Legwold
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In a deal that has waited on the Super Bowl and some of the contract machinations that come with a job change, the Denver Broncos are set to make Darren Rizzi their special teams coordinator, according to team and league sources.
For the last six seasons Rizzi has been the New Orleans Saints‘ special teams coordinator after a 10-year stint with the Miami Dolphins. Rizzi, who also served as the Saints’ interim head coach this past season after Dennis Allen was fired, was on Broncos coach Sean Payton’s staff in New Orleans for three of Rizzi’s seasons with the Saints.
The special teams’ coordinator job is one of several openings on the Broncos’ staff Payton has worked to fill in recent weeks. Payton was in New Orleans last week in the days before the Super Bowl.
Payton fired Ben Kotwica a week after the Broncos’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, and Mike Westhoff had retired during the season due to health reasons. The Broncos’ other special teams assistant coach — Chris Banjo — was not promoted by Payton after Kotwica’s firing and was hired as the New York Jets‘ special teams coordinator.
Rizzi, who had formally interviewed for the Saints head coaching job in mid-January, and some of the other Saints’ assistant coaches, according to multiple league sources, were in a holding pattern until Kellen Moore was named the team’s head coach this week. The assistants had to wait to know if they would be retained on Moore’s staff or allowed to seek other jobs.
Moore was the Philadelphia Eagles‘ offensive coordinator this past season, and the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
The Broncos (10-8) led the league in punt returns this season — 15.7 yards per return. Marvin Mims Jr. was named as an All-Pro as a returner, and kicker Wil Lutz tied Jason Elam for the franchise’s single-season record for field goals with 31.
However, there were two high-profile special teams miscues — both in key AFC West losses — that loomed over the Broncos’ special teams units.
The first was a blocked field goal as time expired Nov. 10 that preserved a Kansas City win, 16-14, over the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs discovered a weakness in the Broncos’ front on a previous kick in the game and overloaded the left side of the line.
Multiple Kansas City defenders then pushed Alex Forsyth over, and linebacker Leo Chenal blocked Lutz’s 35-yard attempt to end the game. The Broncos flipped Forsyth and reserve tackle Matt Peart in the formation for the remainder of the season, and Lutz made 41 of his final 42 field-goal and extra-point attempts the rest of the way.
Lutz missed a 50-yarder in the Wild Card loss to the Bills.
The second high-profile special teams mistake came before halftime of the Broncos’ Dec. 19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in SoFi Stadium. Cornerback Tremon Smith was called for fair-catch interference when he bumped Chargers punt returner Derius Davis as the half was about to end. The Chargers elected, by rule, to take a free kick as a result of the penalty, and Los Angeles kicker Cameron Dicker then made a 57-yard field goal to end the half.
The play cut the Broncos lead to 21-13 in the game and gave the Chargers, who went on to a 34-27 win, some needed momentum.