Jan 18, 2025

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 11: Ben Kotwica, special teams coordinator for the Denver Broncos, watches players warmup before the start of a preseason game at State Farm Stadium on August 11, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. The Arizona Cardinals hosted the Denver Broncos for their first NFL preseason game of the 2023 season. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) PUBLISHED: January 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM MST In an unexpected move, the Broncos fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica this week, a source told The Denver Post on Friday. Kotwica was hired by Denver in 2023 after serving as an assistant special teams coach for Minnesota in 2022. Over the past two seasons, he and former assistant head coach Mike Westhoff, who stepped down earlier this season to monitor a potential health issue related to his vision , were instrumental in Denver’s special teams success. Last year, Denver placed first in punt return average (16.3), second in punt return average against (6.3), eighth in kickoff return average (24.9) and ninth in kickoff return average against (21.5). This season, the Broncos ranked first in punt return yards (15.7), 15th in kick return yards (28.0) and sixth in field goal percentage (91.2%). Denver was also seventh in punt attempts pinned inside the 20-yard line with 33. Those numbers are night and day compared to the 2022 campaign. The Broncos were last in kick return average (17.5), tied for 20th in punt return average (8.3) and longtime kicker Brandon McManus made 77.8% of his field goals. Denver’s struggles on special teams that season led to coordinator Dwayne Stukes’s firing on the same day as former coach Nathaniel Hackett . Former assistant special teams coach Mike Mallory took over the unit for the final two weeks of the 2022 season. When head coach Sean Payton brought in Kotwica and Westhoff, he hoped the two could turn one of Denver’s weaknesses into a strength. “That combination I like there,” coach Sean Payton said last season. “I mean, we’ve got experience there, and we’ve got (special teams assistant Chris Banjo) who’s a great communicator. Certainly with Mike, I know him well. Ben has been outstanding. It’s such an important part of turning around a team’s fortune.” In Denver, Kotwica oversaw Marvin Mims Jr.’s development into one of the league’s top returners. Mims was named a Pro Bowl starter and first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press after totaling 408 yards on 26 punt returns. The 2023 second-round pick’s 61-yard punt return set up Denver’s go-ahead touchdown in a win against the Colts in Week 15. Despite the special teams success, the blocked field goal attempt in Week 10’s loss to the Chiefs left a major stain. Kansas City linebacker Leo Chenal stormed through the left side of Denver’s line as part of an overload rush and deflected Wil Lutz’s attempt in the closing seconds of a crushing 16-14 loss. “That’s on all of us as far as giving them some credit where there was some pressure on that side,” Kotwica said after the loss to Kansas City. “We’ve made those corrections over the past two days. I’m really excited about the energy and the resolve our guys have. Obviously, you bleed for a while and then you get up to fight again. That’s what this league is.” The Broncos special teams unit also didn’t have the cleanest performance in the wild-card round loss to the Bills last week. They perfectly executed a fake punt when punter Riley Dixon threw a 15-yard pass to Mims on fourth down in the second quarter. But Lutz missed a 50-yard field goal attempt. The punt unit also gave up 59 yards on two returns from Ty Johnson. Before Kotwica coached special teams, he spent eight years in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot. Following his time in the military, Kotwica was a special teams coordinator for the Jets, Commanders and Falcons. Looking ahead at replacements for Kotwica, the Broncos could promote assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo. The 34-year-old recently interviewed for the vacant special teams coordinator job in San Francisco. Denver could also target Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, who took over after Dennis Allen was fired in the middle of the season. Payton hired Rizzi to be a special teams coordinator in 2019, and was given the title of assistant head coach in 2022. He also spent 11 seasons as a special teams coach in Miami. Rizzi interviewed for the Jets’ head coaching vacancy last week.