The Washington Redskins now have a vacancy for a special teams coach, as Ben Kotwica is leaving the team to join the Atlanta Falcons for the same position.
The Redskins had granted the Falcons permission to interview Kotwica, according to Matthew Paras of the Washington Times.
Kotwica spent the past five seasons with Washington. There, Kotwica limited some of the glaring special teams miscues that had haunted the Redskins in previous seasons before his arrival.
In 2018, the Redskins special teams ranked eighth DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. While their punt coverage yielded 9.8 yards, the ninth-most in the NFL, punter Tress Way had 79 punts with zero touchbacks and 41 inside the 20-yard line.
On the flip side, the Redskins punt return struggled gaining 6.5 yards per return which was eighth-fewest in the league.
Place kicker Dustin Hopkins improved under Kotwica, culminating this season as he made a career-high 89.7 percent of his field goals. He improved drastically from long range, making 4-of-5 field goals for 50 yards or more. He was 5-of-13 from the same distance in his previous three seasons combined.
Kotwica’s departure is the first official departure from Jay Gruden’s coaching staff. However, Washington appears to have already made a change as it’s been reported that Torrian Gray was dismissed as the defensive backs coach. And there could be more changes coming on the defensive side.
Considering the mediocrity the Redskins have been in the recent years, change is much welcomed.
