Tag: Chris Banjo

Broncos coach Sean Payton pleased with new special teams staff

Broncos coach Sean Payton said improving special teams is one of “the quickest ways to move from where we’ve been to where we want to go.”

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Broncos Wire has made a point this offseason to emphasize the changes new head coach Sean Payton has made on special teams, because those offseason changes could have significant on-field impacts this fall.

In addition to changing the personnel — with a new kicker, a new punter and a new returner — Payton also brought in three new coaches with special teams backgrounds.

Ben Kotwica will serve as the special teams coordinator, working alongside assistant head coach Mike Westhoff. They will be joined by new assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo, a former special teams ace who just retired this spring and is transitioning to coaching.

Kotwica and Westhoff previously worked together with the New York Jets from 2007-2012. Westhoff coached under Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2017-2018 and Banjo played in New Orleans from 2016-2018.

“Look, they were together,” Payton said on June 14 of Kotwica and Westhoff reuniting. “I don’t know how many years — seven or eight years — with the Jets. I love that we were able to get both of them. …. [Mike] He’s a fantastic teacher. I’ve said it before — if there was a Hall of Fame of special teams coaches, it would start with him. Then Ben — he’s been a coordinator. He has that experience. Here is a guy who’s served two tours and flown Apache helicopters for our country. He, too, is an amazing teacher.”

Westhoff, 75, came out of retirement to reunite with Payton, 59, and Kotwica, 48, in Denver.

“That combination I like there,” Payton said. “I mean, we’ve got experience there, and we’ve got a former player [in 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.

“If you said the quickest ways to move from where we’ve been to where we want to go, it is improving the kicking game. We talked about the offensive line and the ability to run the football. There are just certain things that I think are fundamental, and I’m fortunate to have those guys.”

Special teams have been a weakness in recent years for the Broncos. Payton’s new staff will aim to change that in 2023.

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Broncos aim to fix special teams with a unique coaching staff

The special teams staff includes Mike Westhoff, with 32 years of experience, and Chris Banjo, a rookie coach. Ben Kotwica is in the middle.

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Special teams have been a disaster for the Denver Broncos in recent seasons.

So it’s no surprise that new head coach Sean Payton made it a priority to completely overall the club’s special teams units this offseason — from the coaching staff to the players, just about everything is new.

One of Payton’s biggest hires was Mike Westhoff, a 75-year-old coach who came out of retirement to help with Payton’s special teams project. Westhoff is officially listed as the club’s assistant head coach, but he is expected to focus on special teams.

The official special teams coach is coordinator Ben Kotwica, who worked with Westhoff with the New York Jets from 2007-2012. Kotwica’s assistant special teams coach will be Chris Banjo, a former safety who just retired this spring and is transitioning to coaching.

It’s a unique staff.

“Mike and I worked together and had a lot of success together during our days in New York with the Jets,” Kotwica said on June 14. “He’s been doing it for such a long time, and he’s been a great mentor and friend. You have Mike on that side of the spectrum, who has been doing it for 30-plus years. Then, you have Coach Banjo, who has been doing it for about three weeks. I’m somewhere in the middle, and that dynamic has been excellent.

“Everybody brings things that are different to the table. So far, so good. There is common language, and it’s been good discussion as far as making our unit better.”

Westhoff has more seniority and he will undoubtedly have a say on special teams decisions, but he’ll work together with Kotwica, the official special teams coordinator.

“Mike has been doing it for such a long time, so we’re using his knowledge and expertise,” Kotwica said. “We have such a great working relationship, whether it’s in meetings or certain things that he’ll take over and talk about or certain things that I’ll talk about. We get on to the field and we separate things. It’s really been a great partnership so far, and I’m excited about where it’s going to go.”

The Broncos ranked dead last in kickoff return average last season (17.5 yards per return) and 12th-worst on punt returns (8.3 yards). Denver’s field goal success rate (77.8%) ranked fifth-worst in the NFL.

There’s a lot of work to be done on special teams. Westhoff, Kotwica and Banjo will be tasked with getting the unit back on track with the help of some new personnel this fall.

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Broncos’ assistant special teams coach joins team after 10-year playing career

Before becoming an assistant coach with the Broncos, Chris Banjo spent 10 years as a safety in the NFL, starring on special teams.

Sean Payton has a history of giving former players their first opportunities as coaches in the NFL.

Recent examples include Zach Strief, Michael Wilhoite and Davis Webb, who are now all on Denver’s staff. Another example is Chris Banjo, who was hired by the Broncos earlier this month right after he retired from playing in the NFL.

Banjo, 33, played safety in the NFL from 2013-2022, spending time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. He played under Payton in New Orleans and under new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona.

Banjo will serve as an assistant special teams coach in Denver, a fitting role given that he was a key special teams player with the Cardinals, Saints and Packers. Banjo played more than double his defensive snaps (948) on special teams (2,474) during his 10-year career in the NFL.

Banjo also appeared on defense, totaling 143 tackles and three interceptions as a rotational defensive back. He made a name for himself on special teams, though, and that’s where he’ll coach with the Broncos.

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Sean Payton has two just-retired players joining his coaching staff

Sean Payton’s coaching staff with the Broncos includes Davis Webb and Chris Banjo, who were just playing in the NFL last season.

Denver Broncos new head coach Sean Payton has mostly completed building his new coaching staff, and there are two unique hires to note.

Davis Webb (as quarterbacks coach) and Chris Banjo (as a special teams assistant) are joining the team immediately after hanging up their cleats. Webb and Banjo both played in the NFL just last season.

“We have two hires that are a little unique,” Payton said at the NFL combine last week. “It’s unusual for a player to come from a playing role, literally last season — call it an active roster status — and into a coaching position. We have that with Davis Webb and we have it with Chris Banjo as well.”

This isn’t the first time Payton has given former players their first opportunities as coaches in the NFL. He did the same with Zach Strief and Michael Wilhoite, who will also join Payton in Denver this spring.

Unlike Webb and Banjo, though, Strief and Wilhoite were out of the NFL for (at least) two years before Payton hired them with the New Orleans Saints. Webb and Banjo will be going straight from the locker room to the film room.

“We really had a really good experience with Chris when he came from Green Bay to New Orleans,” Payton said of Banjo. “I knew that he was still playing at Arizona, but he was at that stage in his career where he was looking forward maybe to getting into coaching.

“I had called him one night and low and behold, it was something he wanted to do and do pretty quickly. Normally, I would say that it takes two years. There is a transition that it takes for players, where they go their way and then they want to get back in.” 

Banjo, who served as a rotational safety and special teams ace for the Cardinals last year, wanted back in immediately, and Payton will give him that opportunity.

Webb served as a backup with the New York Giants last season, starting one game. The Broncos weren’t the first team to offer him the chance to coach in the NFL — the Buffalo Bills wanted him to retire last year so he could serve as their QBs coach, but Webb decided to continue playing.

Webb is now ready to make the jump to coaching, and Payton has made it possible.

“[H]e came highly recommended from a bunch of different coaches,” Payton said of Webb. “Brian Daboll, Eli Manning, I spoke to a number of people. I kept hearing the same things about him, so we brought him in. I didn’t have to do that with Chris, but I didn’t know Davis from — I remember him as a player, but I didn’t know him at all. He did a really good job.

“Those are two unusual hires because they were just on rosters last year, but their experience and where they are at — he’s a coach’s kid, Davis is. He had a file on his computer of every gameplan that he’s ever had since he was in high school, then college, then Texas Tech. Then, [Patrick] Mahomes comes in and then he transfers. It was really impressive just going through the process. Then, the fit for us, too — especially in that room — I think will be good.”

Webb will serve as the team’s QBs coach, working alongside Russell Wilson, under offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi — a former QBs coach — and Payton, who started his NFL coaching career as a QBs coach in 1997.

Webb and Banjo will look to follow in the footsteps of Strief and Wilhoite, who successfully transitioned from playing to coaching under Payton.

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Former Saints safety Chris Banjo retires as a player, joins Sean Payton as coach

Former Saints safety and special teams ace Chris Banjo announced his retirement as a player, joining Sean Payton as a coach on the Broncos:

News of this development broke before he could announce it himself, but it’s still good to see Chris Banjo get his moment in the spotlight. The former New Orleans Saints safety spent the last three seasons playing for the Arizona Cardinals, but he’s hung up his helmet to grab a polo T-shirt and join Sean Payton on the Denver Broncos.

“The cats already out the bag!” Banjo wrote from his official Twitter account, “But on my 33rd Birthday I’m officially retiring from PLAYING in the NFL.”

Banjo was hired by Payton as an assistant special teams coach, where he’ll work closely with special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica and assistant head coach Mike Westhoff. It’s a role he’s well suited for; Banjo logged over 2,600 snaps in the kicking game throughout his 10-year NFL career with the Saints, Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers. Now he gets to see the game from a new perspective and continue his football life. Good luck to him.

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Former Packers S Chris Banjo retiring from NFL, entering coaching with Broncos

Former Packers S Chris Banjo is retiring from the NFL after 10 seasons. He’ll now transition to an assistant coaching job with the Broncos.

Safety and special teamer Chris Banjo, an undrafted free agent find of the Green Bay Packers, is retiring from the NFL after 10 seasons.

Banjo announced the decision on social media on Sunday, his 33rd birthday.

What’s next for Banjo? He’s headed to Denver to be the new special teams assistant coach on Sean Payton’s new staff. He’ll work under Ben Kotwica and Mike Westhoff, two veterans of coaching special teams.

Banjo played 131 regular season games and 10 playoff games over 10 seasons.

Packers general manager Ted Thompson signed Banjo as a rookie free agent in July of 2013. He went on to play in 37 regular season games and five playoff games with the Packers over four seasons. He was also voted as a playoff special teams captain in 2015.

Overall, Banjo played 2,474 snaps on special teams and 948 on defense during his NFL career. He tallied 143 tackles, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Banjo played under Payton in New Orleans from 2016-18. He spent the final four years of his career in Arizona, playing 55 games with the Cardinals.

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S Chris Banjo announces retirement as he becomes coach

Banjo is becoming a coach for the Denver Broncos and announces his retirement from playing in the NFL on his 33rd birthday.

This isn’t surprising news, but an Arizona Cardinals player from the 2022 season and the last four years has announced his retirement. Safety Chris Banjo announced on social media on Sunday that he was retiring from the NFL.

He made the announcement on his 33rd birthday.

He is the third Cardinals player to retire this offseason, joining J.J. Watt and A.J. Green.

Banjo was actually released last week.

He was released because he is joining Sean Payton’s coaching staff with the Denver Broncos as an assistant special teams coach.

Banjo played a decade in the league for the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Cardinals, making a name for himself primarily on special teams.

He played the last four seasons for the Cardinals as a core special teams player.

He will make the seamless transition from player to coach without any downtime away from the league. Not a bad way to end a playing career.

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Broncos announce coaching staff additions: All 8 of the ex-Saints joining Sean Payton

Broncos announce coaching staff additions: Here are all eight of the ex-Saints joining Sean Payton in Denver

There we go: the Denver Broncos announced their changes to the coaching staff under Sean Payton on Saturday, and as expected there’s a large group of former New Orleans Saints assistants and players coming to town. Eight of the 15 announced hirings have ties to Payton’s tenure in New Orleans.

We knew most of these additions thanks to previous reporting from New Orleans and Denver, but there are a couple of unexpected surprises — including at least one former Saints player who is kicking off his coaching career with Payton on the Broncos. Here’s what you need to know about each of these new additions:

Broncos coaching staff update: Final pieces falling into place

The Broncos are expected to add Joe Lombardi, Keary Colbert, Michael Wilhoite and Greg Manusky to their coaching staff.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is getting closer to adding the final pieces to his staff.

In addition to hiring Vance Joseph as the team’s new defensive coordinator on Thursday, Payton also hired Joe Lombardi for the offensive staff, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. It’s not yet clear if Lombardi will serve as the offensive coordinator or in another role.

Lombardi worked under Payton in three different roles with the New Orleans Saints, including as a quarterbacks coach from 2016-2020. He served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022 before reuniting with Payton in Denver.

Payton also hired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert on Thursday, according to a report from On3.com’s Matt Zenitz. Colbert, a former Broncos receiver, coached at the University of Florida last fall. Before that, Colbert coached at USC from 2016-2021, helping develop a group of receivers including Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London.

Denver is also bringing in Davis Webb as quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Webb spent time as a backup QB with three teams — most recently with the New York Giants last year — before joining the Broncos as a coach.

On special teams, Denver will hire Chris Banjo as an assistant special teams coach, according to Klis. Banjo, 32, is a former safety who was just officially cut by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday. Banjo played under Payton in New Orleans and under new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Denver is hiring Michael Wilhoite as its new linebackers coach, according to Klis. He coached under Payton with the Saints from 2019-2020.

Wilhoite will presumably oversee the outside linebackers because Greg Manusky is joining the team as their inside linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He has DC experience with four NFL teams and most recently coached ILBs with the Minnesota Vikings last season.

Joseph’s defensive staff will also include holdover defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and defensive backs coach Christian Parker, NFL Network’s James Palmer confirmed Thursday. Klis had previously reported that the Broncos hoped to keep Dixon and Parker on staff regardless of who was hired as DC.

Ben Steele, who served as Denver’s assistant offensive line coach last season, will not be staying. Steele has joined the Arizona Cardinals as their new tight ends coach. We are tracking all of the changes to the Broncos’ coaching staff on this page.

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Former Jaguars DB Chris Banjo hired as Broncos assistant coach

Former Jaguars player Chris Banjo is transitioning to a coaching job.

Special teams ace Chris Banjo’s playing career in the NFL ended Thursday with his release from the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday and subsequent hire as a special teams assistant coach with the Denver Broncos.

Banjo, who turns 33 on Sunday, began his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. Despite not getting picked in the 2012 NFL Draft and not getting a contract, Banjo spent a year working a 9 to 5 job and training for another shot at the professional ranks. It was enough to earn him a tryout with the Jaguars in 2013 and he capitalized on the opportunity to earn a deal.

While Jacksonville waived Banjo three months later, it was his foot in the door. He signed with the Green Bay Packers a few days later and proved to be one of the NFL’s best special teamers.

Banjo joined the New Orleans Saints in 2016 and the Arizona Cardinals in 2019. In a decade in the NFL, Banjo recorded 143 tackles, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery touchdown.

In addition to hiring Banjo, the Broncos also hired Davis Webb — who spent the 2022 season as a backup for the New York Giants — as their new quarterbacks coach.

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