ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There are signs suggesting Mike Westhoff has some influence with Sean Payton as the Denver Broncos' new head coach puts his new coaching staff together.
Westhoff was Payton's special teams coordinator in 2017-18 before retiring. Before that, Westhoff was special teams coordinator for the New York Jets and head coach Rex Ryan from 2001-12. Ryan is now among the top candidates for the Broncos' defensive coordinator position.
Westhoff's special teams assistant with the Jets was Ben Kotwica, who has been hired as the Broncos' special teams coordinator, sources confirmed to 9NEWS.
Meanwhile, Broncos' new head coach Sean Payton interviewed former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph for Denver's defensive coordinator position Friday. The interview lasted about 8 hours with Joseph also meeting with general manager George Paton. The decision between Ryan and Joseph is expected to be made in the next couple days. Joseph has an interview scheduled early next week with Philadelphia for the Eagles' defensive coordinator position.
Kotwica has previously been a special teams coordinator for the Jets (2013), Washington (2014-18) and Atlanta Falcons (2019-20). He was the Vikings' assistant special teams coordinator last season, and the only way the Broncos could nab him away is to interview him for coordinator.
Meanwhile, 9NEWS has confirmed Westhoff has been hired as the Broncos' assistant head coach/special teams Westhoff met with Sean Payton at Broncos' headquarters Thursday evening, as he indicated as much through a social media post Thursday morning when he said he was going to "Denver to meet an old friend.''
Westhoff, 75, overcame a horrific battle with cancer to his left femur that had complications and was a 20-year battle. He now has a titanium rod in his left leg but his social media post showed him hitting the slopes at Jackson's Hole so he's overcome his health issues and then some.
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