Tag: dwayne stukes

Broncos fired 2 more coaches after Nathaniel Hackett

After firing HC Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, the Broncos also parted ways with ST coordinator Dwayne Stukes and OL coach Butch Barry.

After firing Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, the Denver Broncos parted ways with two more coaches a few hours later.

The Broncos announced on Monday evening that special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes and offensive line coach Butch Barry were “relieved of their duties.”

For the final two games of the season, Mike Mallory will coach special teams, Ben Steele will coach the team’s offensive line and Jerry Rosburg will serve as interim head coach.

Denver ranks last in kickoff return yards this season (16.9 yards per return) and kicker Brandon McManus ranks 31st in field goal percentage (75%). Corliss Waitman, the team’s punter, ranks 22nd in yards-per-punt average (46.2).

That explains the Stukes firing.

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has been sacked a league-high 49 times this season, and Denver’s offensive line overall has allowed 57 sacks this year, the highest total in the NFL.

That explains the Barry firing, who was a curious hire from the start. Hackett added Barry after parting ways with accomplished offensive line coach Mike Munchak, a move that was questioned by both pundits and fans.

Munchak took a break from coaching this year and it’s possible that the team’s next head coach might be able to convince him to return.

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Broncos rookie Montrell Washington making his mark as a returner

There’s hope that Montrell Washington may be the long-term solution to one of the Broncos’ biggest Achilles’ heels: special teams.

It has been a long time since the Denver Broncos had a dangerous returner running back punts and kicks; the last respectable one in recent memory was Trindon Holliday.

However, the Broncos think they may finally have the solution in rookie Montrell Washington.

“Montrell is a hard worker,” special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes said during training camp. “He’s confident in his abilities and so am I. I’ve been pleasantly pleased with how Montrell has handled [returning kicks].”

Already, Washington has a leg up on several other contenders for Denver’s starting returner role. In college, Washington became a dynamic returner of both kicks and punts, ultimately returning 95 kicks (47 punts, 48 kickoffs) for 1,846 total yards and five touchdowns at Samford.

However, Stukes knows that fielding kicks in the NFL is a completely different animal from playing in front of around 3,000 fans at training camp.

“Now playing in a stadium or playing in front of a crowd is a lot different than in training camp right here,” Stukes said. “But when [Washington] enters the stadium, he should be the first on the field to catch the punt off of a live foot when we go to preseason, when we go to the regular season.”

That proved to be the case on Saturday night, with Washington getting the first opportunity to return kickoffs and punts against the Dallas Cowboys. The fifth-round draft pick didn’t disappoint, returning  two punts for 45 yards. That’s the kind of field-flipping the team’s been looking for.

When he was drafted, Washington earned the praises of Broncos general manager George Paton and the hopes of head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Now he’ll aim to continue proving during preseason that he’s the right man for the job.

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Dwayne Stukes wants attack-minded players on Broncos special teams

“We want violent guys. That’s just my mindset; that’s just my mentality,” Broncos special teams coach Dwayne Stukes said.

Although often overlooked, special teams are the third element of football. The adage: offense sells tickets, and the defense wins games could be seen as accurate by many. However, special teams play requires a lot of grit and toughness, and one big special teams play can break the game open.

Dwayne Stukes, the new special teams coordinator for the Denver Broncos, knows what type of players are needed to compete for special teams. Last season, Stukes was the assistant special teams’ coach for the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. With his chance to run his unit, Stukes wants players on his special teams to have an attacking mindset.

“Obviously [we] want guys that are good athletes, that’s first and foremost,” Stukes said Wednesday. “Guys that can move in space. We want physical guys. We want violent guys. That’s just my mindset; that’s just my mentality. You have to have some type of physicality, some type of violent nature of not yourself, to perform at a high level on the football field in my opinion.

“There’s no need — or no room — for guys to be soft and passive on the field. Like I said before, and I’m going to stand by this, we want to have an attack mentality. We do want to physical. We do want to be violent. We do want to dictate the flow of the game to our opponents. I’m not going to shy away from that.”

The Broncos have assembled a coaching staff that has had varied success in the NFL to change the culture into a winning one. Stukes’s championship pedigree should help the Broncos mold the third phase of football into good shape.

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Dwayne Stukes downplays possibility of Broncos drafting punter Matt Araiza

Matt Araiza has a big leg, but ST coach Dwayne Stukes hinted at punting on the prospect. What say you?

The first round of the NFL draft concluded Thursday night with the Denver Broncos not making a selection, but, entering the final two days of the draft, the team is loaded with nine picks, so the team, now with Russell Wilson at QB, can truly make luxury picks such as targeting a punter like Matt Araiza.

While a punter can have a major impact in a football game, the modern game is a passing league. So, obviously, scoring points, not playing field position, is the objective. A better goal pertaining to punters is to not have to use them. Newly-hired special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes, speaking to the media about Araiza and his big leg, eluded to punting on the prospect.

“I’ve watched him just like everybody else. Our system is a little bit different,” Stuke said Wednesday. “In our system, we’re not just looking for a guy to bang the ball 50 yards, 60 yards deep. That’s not what we’re doing. When you punt the ball or kick the ball in the middle of the field, you give your opponent more ability to score, whether it’s a kickoff return or a punt return.

“We have certain rules in our system where we would prefer to place the ball somewhere different. Again, that will show on film once we get to the preseason. I don’t want to give away all of our secrets, but yes, to answer your question. I watched him. We have specialists here who can do the same thing though.”

Denver has two punters on the roster: Sam Martin and Corliss Waitman.

Time will be our judge on if the Broncos select Araiza, which would likely occur on Day 3. The team’s first pick is No. 64 overall, while the team totals three picks on Day 2 of the draft on Friday.

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Broncos will introduce new coordinators today

The Broncos will hold a press conference for Ejiro Evero, Justin Outten and Dwayne Stukes at 12 MT.

Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett will hold a press conference to introduce his new coordinators today.

Hackett has hired Ejiro Evero (defensive coordinator), Justin Outten (offensive coordinator) and Dwayne Stukes (special teams coordinator) as his top assistant coaches (we’re tracking all the coach hires here).

Tuesday’s press conference will begin at 12 p.m. MT and will be available to stream on Denver’s Twitter page and on the team’s official website.

There’s also another media appearance on Tuesday that Broncos fans will likely be interested in. After posting a cryptic “thank you” message on his Instagram page last night, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is expected to appear on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.

Many fans and pundits think Rodgers’ post means he’s about to retire or leave the team. Others believe he’s going to remain in Green Bay.

Whatever Rodgers’ decision is, he might announce it on McAfee’s show today, which begins at 10:00 a.m. MT on SIRIUS XM Channel 82.

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Broncos poach three coaches from Rams’ staff

Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett poached three coaches from the Rams: Ejiro Evero (DC), Dwayne Stukes (STC) Marcus Dixon (DL).

The Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams are clearly doing something right, and the Denver Broncos appear to be following their lead.

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has hired three members of the Rams’ coaching staff: secondary coach/pass game coordinator Ejiro Evero, assistant special teams coach Dwayne Stukes and assistant defensive line coach Marcus Dixon.

Evero (defensive coordinator), Stukes (special teams coordinator) and Dixon (defensive line coach) are all getting promotions in Denver, which allows the Broncos to poach them from Los Angeles.

Here’s a look at the Broncos’ complete coaching staff under Hackett.

Offense

Head coach: Nathaniel Hackett

Offensive coordinator: Justin Outten

Wide receivers: Zach Azzanni

Running backs: Tyrone Wheatley

Passing game coordinator/QBs: Klint Kubiak

Tight ends: Jake Moreland

Offensive line: Butch Barry

Assistant offensive line: Ben Steele

Offensive quality control: Ramon Chinyoung

Defense

Defensive coordinator: Ejiro Evero

Senior defensive assistant: Dom Capers

To-be-determined role: Bill Kollar (*expected)

Defensive line coach: Marcus Dixon

Defensive backs: Christian Parker

Assistant defensive backs: Ola Adams

Linebackers: Peter Hansen

Outside linebackers: Bert Watts

Defensive quality control: Nathaniel Willingham

Special teams and more

Special teams coordinator: Dwayne Stukes

Special teams assistant: Mike Mallory

Assistant to head coach: Derek Haithcock

Instructional designer: John Vieira

Head strength and conditioning: Loren Landow

Assistant strength and conditioning: Korey Jones

Assistant strength and conditioning: Pierre Ngo

Player performance assistant: Emily Zaler

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After adding Tyrone Wheatley, Broncos expected to hire at least 3 more coaches

The Broncos officially announced Tyrone Wheatley as their new RBs coach on Wednesday. Denver has at least three more hires on the way.

The Denver Broncos have hired Tyrone Wheatley as their new running backs coach, the team announced Wednesday.

Wheatley, 50, had a 10-year career as a running back in the NFL before going on to coach at the college and pro level. He most recently served as the head coach at Morgan State from 2019-2021.

Wheatley becomes the 14th outside hire head coach Nathaniel Hackett has made so far this offseason. At least three more additions are on the way, all from the same team.

The Broncos are expected to hire Los Angeles Rams secondary coach/pass game coordinator Ejiro Evero, Rams assistant special teams coach Dwayne Stukes and L.A.’s assistant defensive line coach, Marcus Dixon.

Evero will be Denver’s defensive coordinator, Stukes will be the special teams coordinator and Dixon will become the defensive line coach, with all three coaches getting promotions after winning Super Bowl LVI.

The Rams are holding their Super Bowl parade in Los Angeles today. The Broncos could make the three hires official as soon as later today, but Thursday might be the most likely day for an announcement.

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Broncos targeting 3 coaches for Nathaniel Hackett’s staff

Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett has made three official hires so far. Three more names to watch: Ejiro Evero (DC), Dwayne Stukes (ST) and Jon Embree (TEs).

After firing former head coach Vic Fangio, the Denver Broncos also parted ways with 11 members of Fangio’s staff.

Former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was hired to replace Fangio, and he’s been busy building his own staff.

Denver has already made three hires: ex-Green Bay Packers tight ends coach Justin Outten as offensive coordinator, former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator and ex-San Francisco 49ers assistant offensive line coach Butch Barry as OL coach.

The Broncos are now targeting three more coaches: Los Angeles Rams secondary coach/pass game coordinator Ejiro Evero (for defensive coordinator), Rams assistant special teams coach Dwayne Stukes (for ST coordinator) and ex-49ers assistant head coach/tight ends coach Jon Embree (presumably as TEs coach), according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Embree, a former Colorado Buffaloes star and head coach, parted ways with the 49ers after they asked him to take a big pay cut, according to Solomon Wilcots of SiriusXM NFL Radio. Denver will likely face competition for Embree, who is considered a top TEs coach in the NFL.

Evero and Stukes won’t be available to potentially join the Broncos’ staff until after Los Angeles plays in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.

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Jags defensive assistant Dwayne Stukes to miss Week 13’s game

The Jags traveled without one of their defensive assistants, Dwayne Stukes, who will miss his second game due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without at least one assistant due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol for the third consecutive week when they take the field against the Minnesota Vikings. This week it will be defensive assistant Dwayne Stukes.

Filling in for him will be assistant linebacker coach and former Jags player Tony Gilbert.

The news concerning Stukes comes after he missed last week’s game against the Cleveland Browns alongside defensive coordinator Todd Wash and defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich. Rebrovich also missed Week 10’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This season marks Stukes second as he joined the Jags’ staff in February of 2019 to assist Rebrovich and has 12 years of NFL coaching experience. Gilbert, on the other hand, is entering his first season as an NFL coach and coached on the collegiate and high school level from 2011-19.