Mike Westhoff (born January 10, 1948) is an American football coach who was most recently the assistant head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached Special Teams for a number of teams, most notably for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Westhoff is considered to be among the greatest special teams coaches in league history.[1][2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | January 10, 1948 Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Wichita State |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
Coaching career
editMiami Dolphins
editWesthoff was the special teams / tight ends coach for the Dolphins from 1986 - 2000.
New York Jets
editWesthoff joined the Jets staff in 2001 after spending the previous 15 seasons in a similar capacity with the Miami Dolphins.
He stepped down as the special teams coach for the New York Jets in December 2007 after the final game.[3] On September 1, 2008, it was announced Westhoff would return to the Jets' sideline for the 2008 season in an undefined role.
On August 8, 2010, Westhoff received a one-year contract extension.[1] Westhoff remained with the team through 2011, which he announced would likely be his final year with the team. However, on January 26, 2012, the Jets announced that they had given Westhoff a contract extension through the 2012 season.[1][4] Westhoff officially retired after the 2012 season.
New Orleans Saints
editOn November 15, 2017, the New Orleans Saints had hired Westhoff to join their special teams coaching staff for the remainder of the 2017 season.[5] The next day, Saints head coach Sean Payton said that Westhoff would be responsible for supervising all the special teams units.[6]
Following the controversial loss in the 2018 NFC Championship game versus the Los Angeles Rams, Westoff appeared on Mike's On radio show with Mike Francesa of WFAN. On the program, he declared the result of that game as "the toughest loss of his long career".[7]
Denver Broncos
editWesthoff was hired to be the assistant head coach of the Denver Broncos under new head coach, Sean Payton, on February 25, 2023.[8]
On November 12, 2024, news broke that Westhoff would be stepping down from his position due to health concerns. Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, “Westhoff, 76, experienced problems related to his vision last week and underwent testing Monday, including an MRI. After consulting with doctors and several positive conversations with Sean Payton, Westhoff made the difficult decision to head home to Florida.”[9] The following day, Westhoff released a statement assuring fans that while he was okay, the incident was his body giving him a warning which he had to listen to. He concluded his message expressing gratitude for the outpouring of support from Broncos fans. [10]
Personal life
editIn 1988, Westhoff was diagnosed with cancer of the femur in his left leg.[11] Originally, the condition was misdiagnosed and Westhoff was nearly fatally wounded after the doctor accidentally cut one of his arteries.[11] Once the correct diagnosis was made Westhoff underwent ten surgeries to remove the cancer and the bone replacing it with bone grafts, plates, screws and pins.[11][12] A cracked bone graft in 2007, caused Westhoff to announce his departure from the Jets.[13] In 2008, Westhoff entered the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to undergo a procedure to replace the missing femur with a titanium rod.[11] After vigorous rehabilitation, Westhoff was able to walk again and returned to the Jets' sidelines in September 2008.[14]
Westhoff is a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.[15] Westhoff has a son, John.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c Cimini, Rich (August 9, 2010), Mike Westhoff re-ups Jets deal, ESPN, archived from the original on November 5, 2012, retrieved November 9, 2010
- ^ Ryan, p. 133
- ^ Youngmisuk, Ohm (December 31, 2007). "Farewell for Mike Westhoff". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (January 26, 2012). "Mike Westhoff will return to Jets". ProFootballTalk.com. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- ^ Parks, James (November 15, 2017). "Saints make a sudden coaching hire". 247Sports.
- ^ Teope, Herbie (November 16, 2017). "Sean Payton on hiring of special teams guru Mike Westhoff: 'I felt like we needed help'". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans.
- ^ Waszak, Dennis Jr. (January 22, 2019). "Mike Westhoff devastated by the missed call - says it was toughest loss of his long career". Twitter.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (February 25, 2023). "Broncos announce series of coaching hires". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ Pelissero, Tom (November 12, 2024). x.com https://x.com/tompelissero/status/1856497223959183851?s=46. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Westhoff, Mike (November 13, 2024). x.com https://x.com/stcoachmike/status/1856734783868752214?s=46. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c d Ryan, p. 134
- ^ a b Bishop, Greg (March 9, 2008), "The Bounce Is Returning to Westhoff's Steps", The New York Times, archived from the original on January 6, 2018, retrieved May 11, 2011
- ^ Brennan, Sean (January 22, 2010), "New York Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff, a cancer survivor, enjoying Super ride of life", New York Daily News, archived from the original on May 9, 2012, retrieved May 11, 2011
- ^ Cole, Jason (October 12, 2008), Jets assistant battled through cancer, leg ailments, Yahoo! Sports, archived from the original on October 25, 2012, retrieved May 11, 2011
- ^ Finder, Chuck (January 11, 2005), Bethel Park native raises cane as Jets assistant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, archived from the original on May 22, 2011, retrieved November 9, 2010
Bibliography
edit- Ryan, Rex; Don Yaeger (2011). Play Like You Mean It: Passion, Laughs, and Leadership In the World's Most Beautiful Game. New York, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-53444-4.