ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with Bill Kollar to be their defensive line coach, it was announced on Friday.
Kollar owns 26 years of experience coaching defensive lines in the NFL, including the last six seasons in Houston coaching that position.
Prior to his time with the Texans, he served as defensive line coach for Buffalo (2007-08), St. Louis (2001-05) and Atlanta (1990-2000).
During Kollar's six seasons with the Texans, the team's defensive line helped the club to a top-10 NFL ranking in run defense four times. His 2011 and 2012 units were among the league's best as Houston posted 44 sacks apiece during those seasons and held teams to less than 100 rushing yards per game.
He coached defensive linemen Mario Williams and J.J. Watt during his time in Houston with the duo combining for four Pro Bowl selections. Watt was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press in 2012 after leading the league with 20.5 sacks and becoming the first player in history with at least 14 sacks and 14 passes defensed in the same season.
Prior to his two-year stint with Buffalo, he spent five seasons coaching the defensive line in St. Louis. Defensive end Leonard Little ranked fifth in the NFL with 55.5 sacks during that span and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2003. Kollar's defensive line was instrumental in the Rams' 2001 Super Bowl run as the club ranked third in the NFL in rush defense (85.9 ypg) while tying for the seventh-most sacks (45) in the league.
Kollar spent a decade coaching the defensive line for the Falcons, highlighted by an NFC Championship in 1998 and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIII against Denver.
An eight-year defensive lineman for Cincinnati and Tampa Bay after being selected by the Bengals in the first round (23rd overall) of the 1974 NFL Draft, Kollar began his coaching career with the Buccaneers as a defensive assistant/special teams coach in 1984.
He spent two seasons each at the University of Illinois and Purdue University before returning to the NFL with Atlanta in 1990.
An All-American defensive lineman at Montana State University, Kollar was born on Nov. 27, 1952, in Warren, Ohio.
