Mike Westhoff, Denver Broncos Assistant Coach

Mike Westoff, congratulations. Appreciate the time. How you been?

I'm good, guys. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, I saw actually on your Twitter that you were snowmobiling at Jackson Hole.

That's pretty neat. That's my hangout. What do you like?

What do you like? I went out there four times this year. Oh, really? Well, yeah, I've been going out there for 30 some years. I went to school at Laramie, and then saw the good friend that lives in Jackson Hole. And so I started, you know, I would go in the summer and go kayaking and rafting. And then in the winter, snowmobiling.

I mean, I can't ski with many artificial parts that I have. And I bought four sleds, I own four sleds, and then we travel all over and just go. We really have fun.

It's really fun. I was there, and then I left from there and stopped down to Denver to talk with Sean. So how did this come about? I know last time you were on with this, you said if you were gonna get back into coaching, it would be with Sean. How'd this go down?

Well, just very simply like that. He had talked to me, you know, about coming back and giving him a hand. And, you know, he knows I can't do this forever or gonna do it. That's not my goal. But, you know, I have tremendous respect for him. To be honest with you, I wouldn't answer your phone for anyone else. I wouldn't. I wouldn't do it.

I wouldn't even consider it. But, you know, I like him. I like what we did when I was with him before. He knows me. And so, you know, to help him get started and to get things going in the right direction, I think that's something I can contribute. And I enjoy being around him.

I really do. And he was very excited about his opportunity at Denver. He had tremendous respect for the ownership and the administration.

And so, you know, he was excited to get going and, you know, asked me to be a part of it. So, I agree. We hear all the time about building culture. And we know what Sean's done in his career with the Saints. And it was remarkable.

And you got to see it towards the end. How did they change the culture in Denver? Like, what are you guys gonna be preaching as a staff? Well, you know, I think Sean's like a lot of good coaches. Like I was around Coach Shula. He's very much in tuned to being detailed. So, doing everything the right way. I mean, from being on time to the way you handle things, your off-season conditioning, your weight room work, everything on the practice field. There's just a tremendous discipline with doing things the right way. And then he also is, I mean, on his side of it, he's the best on the field teacher I ever saw in my 32-year career.

Wow. He's the best. I mean, as a teacher. I used to stand there and listen to him talk about the offense. And he'd be, you know, just in a walkthrough, you know, he'd be telling Michael Thomas and, you know, Alvin Kamari said, okay, now we're gonna come right in here.

You're gonna pull right into here. And then he'd say, now take a look. He said, you're right between the quarterback and the safety. He said, now, as soon as you get to here, bam, you pull back out, Drew, there's the window.

I'm gonna tell you what, I'd be standing there on Sunday and it was exactly like that. So Sean's a good teacher and he explores a lot of things. I had a lot of success with them. We were very good and it's something I think I can do. So, you know, can I do it again? It's difficult to say, you know, as I've told you, you've heard me talk about this before, the special teams has somewhat been diluted in the National Football League. It's just the way it is. And up there in Denver, maybe even a little more so because of the altitude. I mean, I could cover a kickoff up there.

It's like playing on Mount Everest. So I have to be a little creative and I kind of like that. I like that. That challenges me and that's something I'm very interested in.

So, you know, it's just something that I wasn't really looking to do. But after talking with him, it's not hard to want to be a little bit of a part of it. Very much so. I read the report over the weekend, Mike Westhoff, that you're going to be the assistant to the head coach and then you're also going to oversee special teams. So is that accurate with your role? Yeah, that's accurate. Well, you know, we hired a special team for another guy, by the guy who used to be with me, Ben Kawika.

We were together with the Jets. And so, you know, there's always some finagling with titles and all that kind of stuff. But none of that's important. I mean, I'll help Sean with whatever he whatever he needs. He doesn't need too much.

Trust me, he takes care of most of himself. But my part of it, Ben and I have worked together. We know how to do it. And we were very good. You know, those last years with the Jets, we were pretty good. And so now it's us coming back together. And it's kind of exciting, exciting to do to kind of bring it back. You know, when Ben left me, he was my assistant for six years.

But then he was a coordinator three different times. And so, you know, it puts all that back together. And good opportunity for him. And I'm looking forward to the challenge. I know we got to see how this offseason plays out the rest of the way. But you're bringing Sean, that means the standards even going to be picked up an extra notch. Do you think this is a quick fix in Denver?

Here's what I know. The trip up and the trip down can both be very quick in the National Football League. I'm a firm believer in that. Sometimes you think you're riding along and you're doing great and all of a sudden you fall right down. But it doesn't take much to bring it back.

You can pick it back up. I believe that coaching has the biggest influence in professional football than any other sport that there is. I'll argue that I think it's the most academic sport and there's a lot of things you can do to help. You know, I know Sean said to me one time the second year when I was there after I was there that first year for half a year and next year after we had a really good year. He said, Mike, when you came here, he said, we started this year. Did you have a goal? I said, yeah, I absolutely did.

He said, what was I said to beat you? I want to be ranked higher than you because you've never been above the top five. That's where you were. So I knew if I was hanging there with you, we'd be pretty damn good. And I actually finished first and I did get them. So it's a good goal.

And that's how I look at them because I respect what he's done as a coach. And I just know that it takes time. You have to put things together, but it doesn't take that much time. And I'm not very patient and I'm sure as hell not going to do this forever. So I'm going to, you know, these guys don't know it yet. They're not 100% sure what's coming, but it's coming.

So they might be happy if I would go back and retire, but I'm looking forward to it. Everything I've seen, the people I've talked to have been so first class that I'm very, I used to, I never knew Denver that well. You know, we never played them that much.

I've always been an AFC East guy and then the NFC for a little while. So it's kind of foreign to me other than Wyoming where I hang out. So I do know a little something about that part of the country, but a great challenge, really good challenge. You talk about goals. What is your goal this year? That's an interesting question.

That's a real good question. I always expect to finish rank very highly. Now, sometimes statistics can be a little bit of a misnomer because of the fact that like, you know, we were always very good kickoff return team with the New York Jets. We were really good. I always ranked at the top one, two, three. Well, how am I going to do that out there?

I don't know. I'm not, you know, I'm not even going to get any chances, kick the ball in the bleachers. So, you know, these are things I'm going to have to adjust, but I want to be creative and try to see what I can come up with that can help us win.

That's my goal, whatever it's going to be, you know, with the Jets, with the Saints. We ran some, I got Taysom Hill. We ran some fakes. We were, we were the best, I think we had the best punt team in 2018 in NFL history. I'll argue that one forever. We were really good. Tom Morstead.

I loved him. We were, we were first in net, I think second in gross, first or so inside the 10. I don't count inside the 20s, inside the 10. And the first two games of the year, we didn't punt.

That's the good news. The bad news is our opponents didn't punt either, but the rest 15 games, including the playoffs, we gave up 30 punt return yards in 15 games. We're the best that ever did at that group.

Nobody ever did it better. So, you know, I have, I have a high bar for anything we do. That's my goal. And I set it for myself and I'm, and I'm just going to try to see how good we can get.

And I won't settle for anything other than, than trying to do it a million miles an hour. So they'll, they're not, they're, they're not quite ready for what's coming. It's gone. Mike Westhoff here with us. There's a lot that's been said during the last year about Russell Wilson after a poor performance a year ago, what is your view? And what's your outlook on Russell Wilson as a quarterback? To be honest with you, you know, I don't know that much about it and it's hard for me to comment.

And I don't feel comfortable doing that. I remember this cause I, you know, I didn't watch him much this year. I, I really didn't as a fan, just looking, watching television, but I can remember this guy playing for Seattle as being a very good football player. That's what I, that's what I remember. I didn't watch him much this year.

I really didn't. And I know this Sean Payton knows how to coach quarterbacks. I mean, so I, I just have every faith and that, that he'll be able to, you know, sometimes you have to integrate a player into your offense rather than maybe build an offense around that individual. I'll give you an example, and I'm not trying to compare anybody, but like, you know, we went to two AFC championship games with Mark Sanchez, but Mark, Mark did a very good job of fitting into what we were doing. We had an excellent defense. I had an all-star team. We led the league in rushing. And so, you know, we kind of all pulled together and the next thing, you know, we're fighting to go to the Superbowl.

And so that's kind of what I believe. And, uh, and I don't know enough to make a comment as to Russell Wilson, you know, what, what he did or didn't do. I just remember him as a pretty good football player that the, as I, as what in my, that I know. So clearly you still have a close relationship with Sean throughout this process, and now you're going to work for him again, Mike Westoff, what really excited him about this opportunity in Denver? Cause you said he, you clearly he's excited to take the job now.

Yeah. He, you know, he just, when he told me and I talked to him about it, you know, there's a lot of things that he liked. He was very, very impressed with the owner.

You know, he talked very exclusively how, you know, just the, the attitude and the, uh, the whole way that was presented to him. And, you know, he, he got, here's the guy that's got some choices and I don't know what he looked at. I really don't know. I can't tell you, but he was impressed enough that, that he was excited and really couldn't wait to get going.

So something, and I'm not a thousand percent sure. I'd be a great question to ask him, but, uh, something really got him excited. And so it's been, it was fun. I was in there last week and showed me all around. We walked everywhere, talked about some things to do and, uh, he's, he's really looking, you know, he he's into it.

He's really into it. A few more with Mike Westoff. I know you had to be happy. I know you're close with Zach Thomas, seeing him get into the hall of fame. I was with him. I was with him the other night.

We went down to Naples here. Uh, you know, I live in Fort Myers and he was at a soccer game and I was so happy. I knew quite a while ago. Zach called me. I was very proud. And he called me and he said, actually, I was in Wyoming. And he said, well, you're a second phone call. I made it.

So I called my father and I called you. Wow. It sounds pretty cool. Um, I will be there. Uh, we'll be there when he gets inducted.

We're gone. That's for sure. That's a positive.

I can't wait. I believe he, I think he very much deserves. And, uh, you know, he was a really good player on a really good defense. And that speaks volumes to me.

So I could be happy. And so I was watching a little bit of the XFL, uh, this weekend, and I'm just wondering if you think this would ever happen in the NFL. Basically the onsite kick is, is a non-factor these days.

They're having this fourth and 15 play where you have to complete it or, or, you know, just get the 15 yards and you get the ball back. Do you think that's something that the NFL would eventually implement and just get rid of the onsite kick altogether? It's been discussed. It's been discussed. I was asked by a guy, I think in the NFL office, that's really, really just very bright about talking about those types of things.

They asked me several months ago and I came up with a couple of suggestions as to little things that you might do to make it a little more fair, not lopsided one side or the other. I recommended that, uh, uh, the kicking team can't touch the ball obviously for the first five yards, but in the next five yards kicking team would have the availability to bat the ball. That might make it kind of exciting. Yeah, it would be so, you know, things like that. I like thinking in those terms, uh, trying to do different things. I've been involved in quite a few of those over the years, but that's an interesting one. That's interesting. Um, I'd have to see, you know, the XFL, I think it's something that is smart for them to try. Why not give it a try? Um, I know the NFL has studied, I think Baltimore proposed that to the something very similar to that, to the competition committee last year.

I'm pretty sure it was Baltimore. Uh, you have to check out. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think so. So those things are being discussed.

So it's, uh, cause you hate to just have a play that becomes a non-play and that's what it, that's kind of where it is right now. Are you pulling that Rex joins you in Denver as the DC? Oh, I, you know, I, I I'd be very happy, you know, I'm a, I like Rex a lot and I think he's an excellent defensive coach. And so whatever happens there, I, you know, I'm, I'm not, I mean, I, I have no problem if it's Rex, I'd love it. So however it works out, I think it would be great. Rex is up, you know, he's done an excellent job on with ESPN, but you know, I talked with him and he seemed excited. So I, you know, you know how those things are complicated and I don't know all the intricacies of it, but intricacies, but I, I, I like Rex a lot and I know he's dog gone good defensive coach. Very good.

Well, Mike Westhoff, congratulations on the new opportunity. I just started to listen to your book a little bit, so I'm enjoying it so far and I'm sure we'll be talking throughout the year. Well, thank you. I appreciate you doing that.

Yeah. I'm very, very proud of it. And I'm glad you're listening to it. I, I, I recorded it. I wrote a little word. Well, I'm very proud. Thank you.