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http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/01/15/report-redskins-interview-jets-special-teams-coordinator/

New York Jets special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica is the latest person to interview with the Washington Redskins as Jay Gruden continues to assemble his new-look coaching staff.

For a team lacking discipline, I like that he served in the military.

I like the picture in the article. It looks like he doesn't take any ... um ... guff.

Our Special Teams will only get better if we spend some of our cap and draft on improving our players...The $36 mil cap hit really hurt our Special Teams...don't get me wrong, I was not a Burns fan, but I do think we had less than marginal players on our Teams.

I'm really good with a passionate and tough coach...

Certainly Snyder can outspend the Jets for this guy if Jay wants him.

fredp45 wrote:Our Special Teams will only get better if we spend some of our cap and draft on improving our players...The $36 mil cap hit really hurt our Special Teams...don't get me wrong, I was not a Burns fan, but I do think we had less than marginal players on our Teams.

I'm really good with a passionate and tough coach...

Certainly Snyder can outspend the Jets for this guy if Jay wants him.

That AND the fact that Mike was interring across the board.

Chris Luva Luva wrote:

fredp45 wrote:Our Special Teams will only get better if we spend some of our cap and draft on improving our players...The $36 mil cap hit really hurt our Special Teams...don't get me wrong, I was not a Burns fan, but I do think we had less than marginal players on our Teams.

I'm really good with a passionate and tough coach...

Certainly Snyder can outspend the Jets for this guy if Jay wants him.

That AND the fact that Mike was interring across the board.

Yeah did I read something about Mike not allowing certain players to play on ST?

While I never liked Mike, for many reasons, I don't believe his interfering had that much impact on how horrible our Special Teams played. I know it's easy to pile on Mike now that he's gone, but....

We missed blocks on Fgs & PAT's, we didn't stay in our lanes on coverage, we had nobody to return punts or KOs -- We had guys on our Special Teams that shouldn't be in the league...and Mike did say when the cap hit happened -- Special Teams will suffer the most with the $36 mil cap hit. We had to let Lorenzo go is a great example.

Ive moved on from Mike and all those issues, now's the time for us to fix the problems. I think the problems we had on STs was (1) quality of players (90%); and (2) coaching (10%).

fredp45 wrote:  I think the problems we had on STs was (1) quality of players (90%); and (2) coaching (10%).

I disagree, I would say it was just the opposite; 90% coaching, 10% players. Other than Lorenzo we had essentially the same players this year as the year before. Now I do have a caveat on personnel. Mike would not allow or require players that could have helped to play ST. So to me that is a coaching issue not a personnel issue.

Niles Paul questioned the coaching and that not everyone has to play ST. BMitch, Trevor Mattich and Chris ey all said the same thing.

Sure the cap hit hurt but the #1 person responsible for the problems was Burns, followed closely by Shanny, and a distant third was the talent pool.

skinsfan#33 wrote:

fredp45 wrote:  I think the problems we had on STs was (1) quality of players (90%); and (2) coaching (10%).

I disagree, I would say it was just the opposite; 90% coaching, 10% players. Other than Lorenzo we had essentially the same players this year as the year before. Now I do have a caveat on personnel. Mike would not allow or require players that could have helped to play ST. So to me that is a coaching issue not a personnel issue.

Niles Paul questioned the coaching and that not everyone has to play ST. BMitch, Trevor Matting and Chris ey all said the same thing.

Sure the cap hit hurt but the #1 person responsible for the problems was Burns, followed closely by Shanny, and a distant third was the talent pool.

ey stated on 980 that Danny left because of Mike interring with who he wanted on teams. Danny had input in the draft process, and which players on defense/offense he could place on his unit. Mike took that control, Danny left because he is one of the best ST's coaches in the league. Quite honestly, I dont give a **** what Skins fans think of him because the entire league thinks highly of him. ey thinks the world of him and so do the players. The rest of the world cannot be that wrong.

That being said, Mike... Again being too heavy handed in his control brings in a rookie coach into a horrible situation. A team that has zero money to acquire talent, mediocre picks and a need to rely on those picks to START because of no cap money. Your rookie FS should be on special teams but he couldn't tackle a heavy bag in a phonebooth. Your rookie SS is lost for the year.

All in all, it was a failure across the board. It's a coaching issue cus Burns was a rookie in a bad position. It was a coaching issue because the HC hired a rookie ST coach to run a horrible unit. It's a coaching issue because of a lack of adjustments throughout the year. Josh Morgan at returner? Why wait so long to promote Nick? It was very much a coaching issue and every other issue. LOL

What's the overall opinion of this guy? Sorry I'm not familiar with him so I don't know if this is great or just OK.

Skinsfan 33 -- I believe that players win games...coaches are important but if you have less talent, you're not gonna win... IMO, the final 4 teams in the playoffs have the best talent...would I take Pete Carroll over all other NFL coaches? No way!


Our Special Teams were the worst I've seen in a long time, maybe the worst Skins ST I've seen, and I've been watching for more than 35 years.

While I'm not a Burns fan or supporter, he did coach ST for the Broncos and did well. I'm sure all ST coaches, Danny included, want the 11 best guys they can get for Teams ...however, it's the Head Coaches job to make decisions on who he plays and who he doesn't play on Teams. Could we really afford to lose a Hall or another defensive guy off that defense? If Mike was holding back guys that play positions that were NOT a position of strength, then smart move.

To give Burns (and Shanahan) a little credit -- they did lose quite a few quality ST guys from last year to this year. In addition to Lorenzo, Kehl, Sundburg, and Crawford are three that come to mind...Did Robinson also play STs?

The good news, we'll have a new coach and we'll have more cap room to get better players.

Sounds like we got our guy!

Redskins lure Jets special teams coach away
Posted by Darin Gantt on January 15, 2014, 2:23 PM EST

Since he didn’t have a contract with the Jets, special teams coach Ben Kotwica was effectively a free agent.

And as the Redskins have done so many times, they bought a free agent to address a glaring need.

According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports, the Redskins are hiring Ben Kotwica as their new special teams coach.

The Redskins were the worst kind of tire-fire on special teams last season, with what seemed like weekly breakdowns and big plays for opponents.

Kotwica had been offered a contract by the Jets, but his willingness to leave speaks to the relative lack of security there under coach Rex Ryan, who has yet to get a contract extension despite the team’s announcement that he’s returning next year.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... oach-away/

I forgot -- "distant third was the talent pool" -- I absolutely do NOT agree with this... our talent on ST was horrible, the worst in the league.

By the way, Niles didn't have a great year himself.

it's a team game and people want to blame the coach or the players and even the refs - what about asking "are they playing well together?

fact is if you don't have 11 guys on the field doing what they have to do TOGETHER you're going to have FAILURE

- the salary cap hurt our depth but if Danny Smith left because he felt like Mike was making it difficult for him to do his job, then that tells us a lot

there's a lot of excuses for this franchise not playing well together for over 15 years - it's got to come down to 1 of 2 things - the owner or the HC or both

SkinsJock wrote:it's a team game and people want to blame the coach or the players and even the refs - what about asking "are they playing well together?

fact is if you don't have 11 guys on the field doing what they have to do TOGETHER you're going to have FAILURE

- the salary cap hurt our depth but if Danny Smith left because he felt like Mike was making it difficult for him to do his job, then that tells us a lot

there's a lot of excuses for this franchise not playing well together for over 15 years - it's got to come down to 1 of 2 things - the owner or the HC or both

Well if we ask "are they playing well together?" and it isn't the coaches or players or refs, then what else would you figure to be the problem?

I see other teams' stars playing specials - Navarro Bowman of the 49Rs, for instance. I know he missed an onside kick a few weeks back but he had an 89 yard pick six in the same game and seems to be in on every tackle on coverage.

Special teams improvement might be the easiest, best bang-for-his-buck method that Gruden can use to improve our team's overall record. Tilting the average starting field position back toward the other team's end zone will make our defense and offense that much more effective — not to mention the benefits of not giving up 10+ points on ST alone in a game.

Ben Kotwica was at West Point when Desertskins was there... hopefully, he will know something of him...

He was 4-0 against Navy... that's all I need!

Kilmer72 wrote:Well if we ask "are they playing well together?" and it isn't the coaches or players or refs, then what else would you figure to be the problem?

The reason this franchise has not done well in the past is basically because of Dan Snyder

This franchise has not done well recently because of Mike Shanahan and Dan Snyder


this FO and Jay Gruden will now get a shot at it - hopefully Dan Snyder stays out of it but that is not likely ...

Then hopefully this next coach wont have a problem if Dan has diner with a player.

It is Official....Skins have hired Kotwica.

In addition to his football career, Kotwica’s background includes his time as a decorated officer who spent eight years in the United States Army after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. His military career included operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea and Iraq. In 2004, he was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, serving as a Combat Attack Helicopter Commander and flying more than 1,000 combat hours in support of five maneuver Brigades within the 1st Calvary Division.

http://realredskins.com/2014/01/15/pres ... ams-coach/

fredp45 wrote:I forgot -- "distant third was the talent pool" -- I absolutely do NOT agree with this... our talent on ST was horrible, the worst in the league.

By the way, Niles didn't have a great year himself.

It was basically the same as the year before when ST was respectable under Danny Smith. The biggest change was at coordinator. Our coverage team's were one of the best on the NFL under Smith and historically bad with the first year ST coordinator, Burns.

Yes we lost Alexander, Sundberg, and Crawford. But Sandburg was lost for half of the season in 2012 too and Crawford didn't start returning points until the very end.

We had talent on our team that Shanny didn't allow or force to play ST. Current and former players called out the ST coach for his coaching. The players didn't trust Burns, so of course they wouldn't play well for him. It is hard to play well when you don't buy in on what you are doing.

Kilmer72 wrote:Then hopefully this next coach wont have a problem if Dan has diner with a player.

Hopefully Dan stops having dinners with players!

Countertrey wrote:Ben Kotwica was at West Point when Desertskins was there... hopefully, he will know something of him...

He was 4-0 against Navy... that's all I need!

He must have been at Army decades ago if he went 4-0 against Navy, because I don't think Army has beaten Navy in any year starting with a 2. I'm sure they have won a couple this century, but I can't remember it.

Go Navy, Beat Army!

Kilmer72 wrote:Then hopefully this next coach wont have a problem if Dan has dinner with a player.

Dan Snyder having dinner with RG3 is not the problem ... the problem is the perception that is 'promoted' by the media and some fans that RG3 is treated differently

having dinner is not the problem

Kilmer72 wrote:

SkinsJock wrote:it's a team game and people want to blame the coach or the players and even the refs - what about asking "are they playing well together?

fact is if you don't have 11 guys on the field doing what they have to do TOGETHER you're going to have FAILURE

- the salary cap hurt our depth but if Danny Smith left because he felt like Mike was making it difficult for him to do his job, then that tells us a lot

there's a lot of excuses for this franchise not playing well together for over 15 years - it's got to come down to 1 of 2 things - the owner or the HC or both

Well if we ask "are they playing well together?" and it isn't the coaches or players or refs, then what else would you figure to be the problem?

It is not sound logic to assume that it was the same problem all along.
Snyder has gotten the rap as a 'bad owner', but I never saw it at all. He grew up a fan, loves the team, and willingly spends. He made bad DECISIONS, but has evolved and stepped back and essentially LISTENED to some of his critics.
Those bad decisions, sadly, have included coaches. Shanny clearly improved the team, despite two years of capgate, but 3-13 ...
but those 13 losses came for varied reasons. Some were RGIII not up to speed and clearly way out of synch, some were coaching inadequacy, some a talent gap, and other crap mixed in and all around. Personally, I include John (I'm a big pile of Mara) Mara and his goon squad of zebras as well, but, of course, I know that the officials treat all teams equally
What it comes down to is it's a tough league, especially in the age of parity. The gap between W and L is really quite small, hence 'any given Sunday'.

Let's just hope that Gruden's balance of strengths and weaknesses, the will of the injury gods, the luck of the bounce, and the wrath of Mara hit the scales tilting a little in our favor.