The New York Jets announced the following additions to their coaching staff: Mike Jones was named assistant strength and conditioning coach, Ben Kotwica was named quality control/special teams and defense, and Mike Bloomgren and Brian Smith were named quality control/offense. The moves were announced by head coach Eric Mangini.
Jones joins the Jets after a stint as an assistant in sports performance at Arizona State University. Jones was a starting safety on the University of Georgia's 1992 team that won the SEC East and the Citrus Bowl.
Kotwica comes to the Jets from the USMA Preparatory School, where he was defensive coordinator. He is a decorated officer who spent eight years in the Army after graduating from West Point, where he played linebacker. While in the Army, Kotwica served as a platoon leader, an Apache helicopter pilot, a battalion executive officer and a company commander. His duties included time spent in Fort Bragg, NC; Bosnia, Korea, Fort Hood, TX, and Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
Bloomgren joins the Jets after a short stint at Texas A&M prior to a two-year stay at Delta State University in Mississippi (2005-06), where he was offensive coordinator. The Florida State graduate was also the co-offensive coordinator at Catawba College in North Carolina for three years, after spending three seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama.
Smith joins the Jets from the University of Massachusetts (2004-06), where he was an assistant coach for three years, the last two years coaching the wide receivers. Smith played cornerback on UMass's 1998 Division I-AA national championship team.
