Jett Modkins grew up around football. His father, Curtis, the Broncos’ running backs coach, brought him into winning post-game locker rooms. He was a constant at NFL training camp practices. And he went on to play in high school and junior college.
But as a Broncos coaching intern last year, Jett saw the entire picture. The hours. The relationships. The details. And a new view of his father during offensive meetings.
“There are certain people that get in front of a group of men and they have a way about them that commands the room and he had a presence,” Jett said in a phone interview with The Denver Post.
Jett, only 26, might be on his way to building the same kind of resume his father has during a 24-year career. He made a positive impression last year on special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, who recommended him to his colleague in Detroit, Dave Fipp, who hired Jett to be his assistant.
The Lions (1-10-1) play the Broncos (6-6) Sunday in the first-ever Modkins Bowl.
“Itap very exciting and definitely special to compete against my dad,” Jett said.
“Fired up about it,” Curtis told The Post. “Itap going to be fun.”
Jett wanted coaching to be his profession well before he became a student assistant at Kent State.
Growing up, Jett embraced the aforementioned perks of his father coaching and adjusted as his family moved from Atlanta to Kansas City to Phoenix to Buffalo all before he was a high school sophomore. A new year meant a new school (four in as many years at one point) and new friends/teammates. Jett learned how to adjust to his surroundings and fit in socially.
“I think itap helped him tremendously,” Curtis said. “At the time, it stinks, especially the older they get. We moved after his freshman year of high school from Arizona to Buffalo and those moves get tougher the older they get. But I think in the long run, being around different people, different cultures, different cities and having to make new friends, I think it rounded him out a little more.”
Jett was a defensive back at Orchard Park High School when Curtis was the Bills’ offensive coordinator/running backs coach. He wanted to play college football, but when recruiters didn’t call, he started communicating with them. The feedback wasn’t ideal, but constructive: Go play junior college football. Jett enrolled at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College.
“We sent my film all over the country and (Glendale) was a place some of the schools referred me to go to and they would keep an eye on me throughout my playing time there,” Jett said.
Jett spent time at Glendale and Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, but his playing career never got out of the blocks because of shoulder and wrist injuries that required surgery.
“I hung up the cleats after that, unfortunately,” he said. “Itap kind of how this game goes for most people — it tells you when itap done with you and you don’t get to decide.”
Jettap decision for his next step was easy: Coaching.
Jett enrolled at Kent State, which was closer to family, and was a student assistant for the program. In 2019, he was a defensive volunteer assistant at Akron.
Curtis, in his 14th NFL season, didn’t try to talk Jett out of the profession.
“You want him to make sure this is what he wants to do and this is the lifestyle he wants to live,” Curtis said. “And once he decided to (go into coaching), just trying to help him the best we could and he’s done a bunch of good work so he’s deserving of where he’s gotten.”
Working for the Broncos, Jett embraced the hours and routine and trying to help in any way. He primarily worked for receivers coach Zach Azzanni, assigned to write up scouting reports on the opponentap starting cornerbacks, safeties and primary sub-package players. During practice, he worked with the Broncos’ scout team to ensure they gave the starters an ideal look for what they would see on Sunday.
“There were so many benefits just from being in the building and being around the greatest coaching minds in the game,” Jett said. “It set my foundation of football knowledge. And also just understanding how this league works.”
Jett was able to live with his family in suburban Denver rent-free.
“That was the best part of it,” he said with a laugh.
The McMahon-Fipp relationship led to the Lions calling Jett for an interview and ultimately hiring him.
With a semi-sense of pride that his son earned the job without his help, Curtis said: “I had nothing to do with it. He called me and said he had an interview with the Lions.”
His Broncos experience was a boon for Jett and so is working on a Lions staff that includes former NFL players Dan Campbell (coach), Aaron Glenn (defensive coordinator), Anthony Lynn (offensive coordinator) and several position coaches. Most of all, special teams coaches must know the entire roster so they develop a feel for the locker room and personnel.
“I think (special teams) is a perfect place to start,” Curtis said.
Said Jett: “When you’re a position coach, you only deal with your players. On special teams, you basically have the whole team except for the quarterbacks so you’re building relationships with everybody across the board. That is honestly my favorite part about this, how many guys on the team you get to work with.”
The Lions, in the midst of a ground-to-ceiling rebuild, started 0-10-1 and beat Minnesota on Sunday. Curtis’ message to Jett during the rough start was to keep working. “Itap a tough league and itap hard every week,” Curtis said.
“It was such a great feeling to win that game and come into work the next day, cleaning up the stuff we had to from that game and just moving forward with a different sense of confidence and knowing we know how to finish a game now and we know how to get through those adverse situations that come up like they did last Sunday,” Jett said.
The Modkins Men won’t be able to meet up Saturday night once the Lions arrive in Denver — “We’ll do the hand-shake and hug at midfield (during warm-ups), but itap Broncos vs. Lions,” Curtis said.
Who will the family be rooting for? This is where father and son kiddingly disagree.
“I don’t want to see any ‘Honolulu Blue’ (the Lions’ main color) this week,” Curtis said with a laugh.
Said Jett: “We’ll see about that. I’m trying to get my little brother to flip sides.”
