Broncos bring in ex-Saints assistant Darren Rizzi as special teams coordinator: Source

Darren Rizzi, a former interim head coach for the New Orleans Saints, has been hired by the Denver Broncos to serve as their new special teams coordinator, according to a source within the league who confirmed the news to The Athletic on Friday.

Prior to the Saints’ decision on Tuesday to appoint Kellen Moore, a former offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, Rizzi, who is 54 years old, was one of the final candidates for the permanent head coach position. In January, Ben Kotwica, who had been working in Denver for two years, was terminated from his position. He was brought to Denver in 2023 by special teams guru Mike Westhoff, who resigned from his position as assistant head coach in the middle of the previous season due to health concerns. Kotwica was fired as a result of this resignation.

Rizzi began his career in the National Football League in 2009, when he joined the Miami Dolphins as an assistant special teams coach. Prior to that, he had coached at the collegiate level for seventeen years. Before being recruited by Sean Payton to manage the special teams operation in New Orleans in 2019, he served as the coordinator of special teams for the Dolphins for the subsequent nine seasons.

After serving as the special teams coordinator for the Saints for six years, Rizzi was promoted to the position of interim head coach in 2024. This happened after the Saints removed Dennis Allen from his position in November, following a seven-game losing streak. During Rizzi’s tenure as interim coach, the Saints finished with a record of 3-5.

Even though the Saints had a poor season overall (5-12), their special teams units continued to be a strength throughout the season. According to TruMedia, New Orleans was ranked top in the opponent’s averaging starting field position after kickoff returns (their own 28.5-yard line). Additionally, the Saints were successful in blocking three kicks, including one punt and an attempt at a field goal. In addition, the Saints finished in fifth place in terms of average punt return (12.5) and sixth place overall in terms of special teams EPA (anticipated points added), which was two spots higher than the Broncos.

Upon moving to Denver, Rizzi will be inheriting one of the most dynamic returners in the game in the form of Marvin Mims Jr., who has been selected to the Pro Bowl at the position in both of his first two seasons. The previous year, Mims had the highest average punt return in the NFL, which was 15.7 yards. There will also be a reunion between the coach and Wil Lutz, who served as the kicker for New Orleans during three of Rizzi’s first four seasons with the team. Since joining the Broncos in a trade right before the 2023 season, Lutz has made 89.7 percent of his field goals overall. In 2024, he tied a record for the Broncos in a single season with 31 field goals that were made.

The enhancement of Rizzi’s kicking game is one of his major focuses.
Identifying a punter is going to be one of the first considerations that Rizzi will make. Riley Dixon had a strong year in 2024, performing well enough to finish 11th in net punting average (42.2 yards) and fourth in total punts downed inside the 5-yard line (five). However, he is now a free agent and is not subject to any restrictions.

Following a season in which they had one of the weakest special teams in the league in 2022, the Broncos made significant progress in this area during Kotwica’s time as head coach. Nevertheless, the development was hampered by a crucial error that occurred during Denver’s most agonizing loss of the season, which occurred in Week 5. Lutz’s field goal attempt from 35 yards out against the Kansas City Chiefs was blocked as time expired. This was due to the fact that linebacker Leo Chenal drove through offensive tackle Alex Forsyth, which the Chiefs had recognized as a weak link in Denver’s field-goal operation. Therefore, Lutz’s and goal attempt was unsuccessful.

Although the Broncos were defeated by the Buffalo Bills by a score of 31-7 in the wild-card game, they were also outplayed on special teams.

After acquiring Rizzi, what are Payton and the Broncos going to do next?
There are still a number of coaching roles on Payton’s staff that need to be filled.

Given that Declan Doyle has been appointed to take over as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, he is in need of a new coach for the tight ends position.

As a result of the sacking of Greg Manusky, the Broncos are currently looking to hire an inside linebackers coach. Additionally, they are looking to hire a pass-game coordinator, as John Morton has recently taken over the post of offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. The Broncos have not yet made a decision regarding whether they will recruit a new coach to fill that position or whether they would delegate Morton’s responsibilities to other members of the offensive staff.

Additionally, the team will need to recruit an assistant special teams coach after Chris Banjo, who had been serving in that capacity under Kotwica for the previous two seasons, was chosen to be the special teams coordinator for Aaron Glenn, who was recently hired as the head coach of the New York Jets.

There are currently six coaches on Payton’s staff who had previously worked for him in New Orleans, and Rizzi is only one of them.