Pro Football Hall of Fame honors three assistant coaches
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will honor three former assistant coaches with the Awards of Excellence. The Hall announced Monday that Mike Westhoff, Bobb McKittrick and Ted Cottrell will make up the Class of 2026. This is the fifth class for the Awards of Excellence, with 17 assistant coaches honored in that time.
Westhoff coached in the NFL for 33 seasons, the majority of his career spent as the special teams coach of the Dolphins and Jets. McKittrick spent 21 seasons as the offensive line coach for the 49ers and is one of four coaches who was with the team for all five of the franchise's Super Bowl titles. Bill Walsh hired McKittrick in 1979.
Cottrell worked for six franchises over 24 seasons and is viewed as an innovator of the 3-4 defense. He helped develop several Hall of Famers, including Bruce Smith with the Bills. The Hall previously announced winners in three other categories with Scott Berchtold, Jim Gallagher and Lee Remmel picked as public relations directors; Red Batty; Mike Davidson and Jack Noel as equipment managers; and Edward "Abe" Abramoski, Kent Falb and Michael Ryan in the athletic trainers category.
The Hall will announce winners in film and video directors category. The ceremony honoring the Awards of Excellence winners will take place June 24-25 in Canton.