Sunday is the end for Mike Westhoff after 30 distinguished NFL seasons and more than 600 games as one of the most accomplished assistant coaches the league has ever seen.
When Westhoff walks off the field Sunday at Buffalo, where the Jets’ 2012 season will come to its merciful end, it will mark his last game as the Jets special teams coordinator, a post he held for the last 12 years.
It will be highly bittersweet considering the uncharacteristic calamity that has marred this season under Westhoff’s watch.
There have been blocked punts returned for touchdowns, blocked field goals, punts and kickoffs returned for touchdowns and onsides kicks and fake punts successfully executed against the Jets.
These are the game-changing plays Westhoff’s special teams units are usually inflicting on opponents.
“When you look back at his body of work it’s so strong that I don’t think his work can be defined by one year,’’ cornerback Kyle Wilson said.
“Mike has always been one of the top special teams coaches in the league and for this to be his last year is probably tough — to cap off his last year like this is probably frustrating,’’ safety Eric Smith said. “If he retires, it’ll be strange not having him coming up to the huddle and in the meetings.’’
Westhoff, a 64-year-old bone-cancer survivor, does not completely rule out coaching again, but he said, “I don’t believe I want to do that right now.’’
“It’s time for me to go,’’ Westhoff said yesterday. “Sometimes there is a shelf life and it is time for a change. I’ve been here 12 years. This is my 624th game and I’m proud of that. Very few of us get to leave the game of our own volition.
“I share responsibility for what has gone on this year. I accept responsibility and accountability for this [season]. Blame? That’s semantics and will be decided by others at a later time.’’
Westhoff said his goal is to get into television, perhaps carving a niche as an analyst to explain the ins and outs of special teams.
His son, John, an attorney in Indianapolis, will be on the Jets sideline with him during the game Sunday, something he said “will be a very special time for us.’’
Westhoff’s players hope to send him off with a performance for him to remember Sunday. It won’t erase the pain and disappointment this season has brought him. But it would be a nice parting gift.
“We would like to send him off on a high note,’’ linebacker Nick Bellore said.
“I want to send him off with a bang,” running back Joe McKnight said. “That’s going to be my mission.’’
McKnight is a classic example of the many players whose careers Westhoff has saved.
“Coach Westhoff has meant a lot to me, because when I wasn’t doing well and not getting in on offense he was chewing me out letting me know he needs me on special teams, and if I was going to make it on this team I was going to have to play special teams,’’ McKnight said. “He just kept sticking with me. I appreciate the fact that he believed in me when nobody else did.’’
That kind of coaching, more than any perfectly schemed blocked punts or kickoff returns for touchdowns, best defines Westhoff’s greatness.
“One of the best special teams coaches ever to coach this game,’’ former Jets and current Cardinals kicker Jay Feely said.
That is not an argument anyone will take the other side on.