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Broncos hire Saints' Rizzi to coach special teams

  • Jeff LegwoldFeb 14, 2025, 05:00 PM ET

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      Jeff Legwold covers the Denver Broncos at ESPN. He has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years and also assists with NFL draft coverage, joining ESPN in 2013. He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999, too. Jeff previously covered the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans at previous stops prior to ESPN.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In a deal that was waiting on the Super Bowl and some of the contract machinations that come with a job change, the Denver Broncos on Friday announced the hiring of Darren Rizzi as special teams coordinator/assistant head coach.

Rizzi has been the New Orleans Saints’ special teams coordinator for the past six seasons after a 10-year stint with the Miami Dolphins. Rizzi, who also served as the Saints’ interim head coach this past season after Dennis Allen was fired, was on Broncos coach Sean Payton’s staff in New Orleans for three seasons.

The special teams coordinator job is one of several openings on the Broncos’ staff that Payton has worked to fill in recent weeks. Payton was in New Orleans last week in the days before the Super Bowl.

Payton fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica a week after the Broncos’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, and assistant head coach Mike Westhoff retired during the season due to health reasons. The Broncos’ other special teams assistant coach, Chris Banjo, was not promoted by Payton after Kotwica’s firing and was hired as the New York Jets’ special teams coordinator.

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Rizzi, who had formally interviewed for the Saints head coaching job in mid-January, and some of the other New Orleans assistant coaches, according to multiple league sources, were in a holding pattern until Kellen Moore was named the team’s head coach this week. The assistants had to wait to know if they would be retained on Moore’s staff or allowed to seek other jobs.

Moore was the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator this past season, and the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.

The Broncos (10-8) led the league in yards per punt return this season at 15.7. Marvin Mims Jr. was named an All-Pro as a returner, and kicker Wil Lutz tied Jason Elam for the franchise’s single-season field goal record with 31.

However, two high-profile miscues — both in key AFC West losses — loomed over the Broncos’ special teams units.

The first was a blocked field goal as time expired Nov. 10 that preserved Kansas City’s 16-14 win over the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs discovered a weakness in the Broncos’ front on a previous kick in the game and overloaded the left side of the line.

Multiple Kansas City defenders then pushed Alex Forsyth over, and linebacker Leo Chenal blocked Lutz’s 35-yard attempt to end the game. The Broncos flipped Forsyth and reserve tackle Matt Peart in the formation for the remainder of the season, and Lutz made 41 of 42 field goal and extra point attempts the rest of the way.

Lutz missed a 50-yarder in the wild-card loss to the Bills.

The second high-profile special teams mistake came before halftime of the Broncos’ Dec. 19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Cornerback Tremon Smith was called for fair-catch interference when he bumped Chargers punt returner Derius Davis as the first half was about to end. The Chargers elected, by rule, to take a free kick as a result of the penalty, and Los Angeles kicker Cameron Dicker then made a 57-yard field goal to end the half.

The play cut the Broncos’ lead to 21-13 and gave the Chargers, who went on to a 34-27 win, needed momentum.

NFL

Ryans: New OC can get Texans 'over the hump'

  • DJ Bien-AimeFeb 13, 2025, 05:32 PM ET

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      DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin’ Texans.”

HOUSTON — Coach DeMeco Ryans said Thursday he believes his new offensive coordinator, Nick Caley, can help get the Houston Texans “over the hump.”

In Ryans’ two seasons in Houston, the result has been the same. Both seasons, the Texans clinched the AFC South title and won a wild-card playoff game. But they suffered losses in the divisional round as the Texans’ offense struggled to score points.

“We’ve had a lot of good success these first two years,” Ryans said Thursday. “The reason we’re doing this is I think there’s another level that we can go to. And as I said earlier, my job is to take this organization to new heights, and I think hiring Nick will help us to get there.”

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The Texans’ loss to the

NFL

Source: Longtime Bengals LB Pratt requests trade

  • Ben BabyFeb 12, 2025, 06:15 PM ET

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      Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports.
      He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs.
      A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

CINCINNATI — A longtime Cincinnati Bengals starter is looking for a new team.

Linebacker Germaine Pratt has requested a trade, a source told ESPN on Wednesday, confirming an NFL Network report.

The move comes as Pratt enters the final year of a three-year contract worth just over $20 million that he signed in 2023.

Pratt, 28, is one of the longest-tenured players on the roster. A fourth-round draft pick in 2019, Pratt has started since the middle of his rookie season. In six seasons, Pratt has started in 88 games, including 47 consecutive starts dating back to Week 3 of the 2022 season.

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Most notably, Pratt had the game-sealing interception in a 2021 wild-card playoff victory over the

NFL

Barkley backs Swift, doesn't get fans' 'hate' at SB

Feb 12, 2025, 02:11 PM ET

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he doesn’t understand why fans booed pop superstar Taylor Swift when she was shown on the videoboards at the Caesars Superdome during Super Bowl LIX.

“I remember that they showed her on the jumbotron, and she got booed. I don’t get it. I don’t get why she was getting hate there,” Barkley said Wednesday during an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM.

Barkley’s response came after he was asked if he thought Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, would get engaged. He didn’t have an opinion on that question but, unprompted, came to the defense of Swift.

“We’re trying to expand the game, and her being a part of it is only helping it. I don’t get the dislike she’s getting.”

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Swift, who grew up near Philadelphia but now roots for the Chiefs and Kelce, was booed when shown alongside rapper Ice Spice during the first quarter Sunday night. She appeared to mouth “What’s going on” in response to the booing.

Many of the boos Sunday night likely came from Eagles fans. Barkley, however, has been embraced by the team’s supporters after leaving the

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