Rizzi Lands New (and Expected) Position

Former Miami Dolphins assistant coach Darren Rizzi ended the 2024 season as interim head coach with the New Orleans Saints

Miami Dolphins special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi reacts against the Oakland Raiders in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium in 2014. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Longtime Miami Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi will end up coaching in 2025 where probably should have been expected.

The Denver Broncos announced Friday they had hired Rizzi as their new special teams coordinator/assistant head coach, reuniting him with former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

This always seemed like the logical conclusion if the Saints didn't hire him as their permanent head coach after he finished last season as their interim head coach.

New Orleans made official its decision this week when it hired Kellen Moore after the former offensive coordinator helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl with their 40-22 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Dolphins were in the market for a new special teams coordinator after moving on from Danny Crossman after five seasons and Rizzi would have been a high-quality replacement, but Miami wound up hiring former Tennessee Titans assistant coach Craig Aukerman.

Aukerman was Titans special teams coordinator for five-plus seasons before he was fired in December 2023 after a disastrous day for the kicking game led to a loss against the Indianapolis Colts. In that game, the Titans had two punts blocked, including one that caused a season-ending knee injury to punter Ryan Stonehouse, and later a missed extra-point attempt with a replacement holder in a 31-28 overtime loss.

In Aukerman's six seasons in Tennessee, the Titans were a middle-of-the-pack group on special teams.

The team finished each season ranked between 14th and 24th in the special teams rankings compiled by Rick Gosselin based on 22 statistical categories. The best showing came in 2022, the worst in 2020. The Titans ranked 21st in 2023.

Aukerman interviewed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams coordinator post in January of 2024, but the job eventually went to Thomas McGaughey.

Aukerman previously was special teams coordinator for the San Diego Chargers in 2016. His NFL coaching career began in 2010 when he was an assistant with the Denver Broncos.

The 48-year-old played wide receiver and defensive back at Findlay (Ohio) from 1995-98.

WHY A RIZZI RETURN ALWAYS WAS A LONG SHOT

The Dolphins reportedly never reached out to Rizzi, but whether he would have wanted to return after interviewing for the team's head-coaching position in 2019 but being bypassed for Brian Flores.

There's also no previous working relationship between Rizzi and head coach Mike McDaniel, which often is a factor in choosing new assistant coaches.

Lastly, and perhaps just as important as anything else, there could be a clashing of styles here because Rizzi is old school, in your face and McDaniel clearly is not.

Rizzi's resume speaks for itself, with nine top 10 finishes in 13 seasons in the NFL special teams rankings compiled every year by Rick Gosselin through an analysis of 22 different statistical categories.

The Dolphins, meanwhile had one top 10 finish and three finishes in the bottom third of the league (25th or lower) in Crossman's first four seasons.

Rizzi had been with the Saints since 2019 and was assistant head coach for three seasons (2022-24) before replacing Dennis Allen during the just-completed season.

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