Denver Broncos | |
---|---|
Position: | Assistant head coach |
Personal information | |
Born: | Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. | January 10, 1948
Career information | |
College: | Wichita State |
Career history | |
As a coach: | |
| |
Mike Westhoff (born January 10, 1948) is an American football coach who is the assistant head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached Special Teams for a number of teams, most notably for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Westhoff is considered to be among the greatest special teams coaches in league history. [1] [2]
Westhoff was the special teams / tight ends coach for the Dolphins from 1986 - 2000.
Westhoff joined the Jets staff in 2001 after spending the previous 15 seasons in a similar capacity with the Miami Dolphins.
He stepped down as the special teams coach for the New York Jets in December 2007 after the final game. [3] On September 1, 2008, it was announced Westhoff would return to the Jets' sideline for the 2008 season in an undefined role.
On August 8, 2010, Westhoff received a one-year contract extension. [1] Westhoff remained with the team through 2011, which he announced would likely be his final year with the team. However, on January 26, 2012, the Jets announced that they had given Westhoff a contract extension through the 2012 season. [1] [4] Westhoff officially retired after the 2012 season.
On November 15, 2017, the New Orleans Saints had hired Westhoff to join their special teams coaching staff for the remainder of the 2017 season. [5] The next day, Saints head coach Sean Payton said that Westhoff would be responsible for supervising all the special teams units. [6]
Following the controversial loss in the 2018 NFC Championship game versus the Los Angeles Rams, Westoff appeared on Mike's On radio show with Mike Francesa of WFAN. On the program, he declared the result of that game as "the toughest loss of his long career". [7]
Westhoff was hired to be the assistant head coach of the Denver Broncos under new head coach, Sean Payton, on February 25, 2023. [8]
In 1988, Westhoff was diagnosed with cancer of the femur in his left leg. [9] Originally, the condition was misdiagnosed and Westhoff was nearly fatally wounded after the doctor accidentally cut one of his arteries. [9] Once the correct diagnosis was made Westhoff underwent ten surgeries to remove the cancer and the bone replacing it with bone grafts, plates, screws and pins. [9] [10] A cracked bone graft in 2007, caused Westhoff to announce his departure from the Jets. [11] In 2008, Westhoff entered the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to undergo a procedure to replace the missing femur with a titanium rod. [9] After vigorous rehabilitation, Westhoff was able to walk again and returned to the Jets' sidelines in September 2008. [12]
Westhoff is a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. [13] Westhoff has a son, John. [10]
Michael Edward Shanahan is an American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led the team to two consecutive Super Bowl victories in XXXII and XXXIII; along with being the first Super Bowl championships in team history, they were the seventh team to win consecutive Super Bowls in NFL history. His head coaching career spanned a total of twenty seasons and also included stints with the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. He is the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Michael Tullis Nolan is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, and Dallas Cowboys. Nolan is a former linebackers coach for the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, and New Orleans Saints.
Joe Vitt is an American football coach who is the senior defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the assistant head coach and linebackers coach of the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He was the interim head coach for the New Orleans Saints during the 2012 season and the St. Louis Rams for their last eleven games in 2005.
Patrick Sean Payton is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021, leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season. Payton played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panthers and played professionally in 1987 with the Chicago Bears and 1988 overseas in Britain for the Leicester Panthers.
Rick Steven Dennison is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the senior offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints. He was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2020. An assistant in the NFL since 1995, he served as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans (2010–2013), and Buffalo Bills (2017), and served as quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. He was the special teams coach for the Super Bowl Champion Broncos in 1997 and 1998. A linebacker who spent his entire NFL playing career in Denver from 1982 to 1990, he appeared in Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV.
John Morton is an American football coach and former player who is the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an Senior Offensive assistant coach for the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders. He also served as an assistant coach at USC.
Dennis James Allen is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He served as head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2012 to 2014. Allen also previously coached for the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, University of Tulsa, and his alma mater, Texas A&M University. In 2022, Allen was promoted to head coach of the Saints after spending the previous seven seasons as the team's defensive coordinator.
Eric Studesville is an American football coach who is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Studesville is known as the former run game coordinator for the Buffalo Bills and interim head coach of the Denver Broncos, a position he held for four weeks in December 2010. He replaced Josh McDaniels after 12 games in the 2010 NFL season, after which he resumed his primary role as running backs coach under head coaches John Fox, Gary Kubiak, and Vance Joseph from 2011–2017. He was the first African American head coach in Broncos history, albeit on an interim basis. Studesville has been to the Super Bowl twice, both as a member of the Broncos personnel, losing in 2014 and winning in 2016.
Anthony Earl Oden is an American football coach and former player who is the senior defensive assistant and cornerbacks coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans. Oden played college football at Baldwin–Wallace College.
Brian Francisco Flores is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career with the New England Patriots, where he served as an assistant coach from 2008 to 2018. Flores was New England's defensive playcaller during his final season coaching for the team, which concluded with a victory in Super Bowl LIII. Following the victory, he served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021.
Frank Bush is a former American football linebacker and coach who is the linebackers coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He played college football at North Carolina State.
Dave DeGuglielmo is an American football coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He was most recently the offensive line coach for the Boston College Eagles. He has previously been offensive line coach for the NFL's New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and New York Giants. DeGuglielmo was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams in his coaching career; the 2007 New York Giants and 2014 New England Patriots.
Vance Desmond Joseph is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes as a quarterback and running back in the 1990s, and was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 1995, playing cornerback for them and then the Indianapolis Colts in 1996. After spending 12 years as a defensive coach in the NFL with San Francisco (2005–10), Houston (2011–13), Cincinnati (2014–15) and Miami (2016), Joseph was hired as head coach by the Denver Broncos in 2017, serving until he was fired after the 2018 season. After his first tenure with the Broncos, Joseph served as defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022, before being hired by the Broncos as defensive coordinator in 2023.
Michael Lee McDaniel is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time assistant and descendant of the Shanahan coaching tree, McDaniel began his NFL coaching career as an intern for the Denver Broncos in 2005. McDaniel served as an assistant coach for the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers from 2017 to 2021, holding his first offensive coordinator position in 2021. McDaniel has appeared in Super Bowl LI with the Falcons in 2017, and Super Bowl LIV with the 49ers in 2020 as an assistant coach alongside Kyle Shanahan.
Jake Moreland is a former player in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns in 2000 and 2001. Moreland is the tight ends coach for the Houston Texans. He has coached previously at Syracuse, Air Force and Western Michigan.
Peter Scott Hansen is an American football coach and former player who is the linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL).
Nathaniel Hackett is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time assistant to Doug Marrone, Hackett previously served as the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills. He held several positions for the Syracuse Orange in college football from 2010 to 2012. He served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2022, but was fired during the season after a 4–11 record.
Adam Joseph Gase is a former American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2013 to 2014, whose offense set the NFL record for points scored in 2013 and helped the team reach Super Bowl XLVIII. Following this success, Gase served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2016 to 2018 and the New York Jets from 2019 to 2020.
Ben Kotwica is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
Ejiro Evero is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers.