One vacancy led to another.
When Darren Rizzi failed to land the New Orleans Saints head coaching job, his focus shifted to the Broncos for a reunion.
Rizzi is on the verge of reuniting with coach Sean Payton, his boss for three seasons in New Orleans from 2019-21, to take over as Denver’s special teams coordinator, a league source told The Denver Post.
It would be a good get for the Broncos, who are starting over in their special teams room after Mike Westhoff’s in-season departure for an eye issue, Chris Banjo’s exit to the New York Jets and the firing of Ben Kotwica.
Per the NFL’s Rooney Rule regarding coordinator openings, the Broncos must interview minority candidates as part of their search.
Rizzi, 54, brings familiarity with Payton and experience. He has served as a special teams boss for the past 14 seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Saints. So respected in New Orleans, he was named the interim coach after Dennis Allen was fired. He went 3-5 as the fill-in, and was a strong candidate for the position before Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore emerged as the favorite this week.
Even with periodic struggles in 2024, including the Chiefs’ blocked 35-yard field goal as time expired at Arrowhead Stadium, the Broncos have revived their special teams over the past two years. Marvin Mims Jr. has earned back-to-back All-Pro honors as the NFL’s best punt returner, and kicker Wil Lutz, a former Saint who worked with Rizzi in New Orleans, has converted 61 of 68 field goals, including 8 of 12 from at least 50 yards.
Rizzi is likely to bring along his own assistant coordinator. The Broncos still have multiple coaching positions open for tight ends, linebackers and passing game coordinator.