Richard Hightower Named Washington Coach

The Washington Redskins announced today, February 8th, that they have named Richard Hightower as the team’s assistant special teams coach. Hightower will assist Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith. He had just completed his first year as the Minnesota Gopher wide receiver coach.

Richard Hightower previously worked as assistant coach-wide receivers for the University of Minnesota (2009). Before joining the Gophers staff, served as the special teams assistant for the Houston Texans (2007-08). Hightower first joined the Texans as a coaching administrative coordinator (2005-06), working closely with the defensive backs and special teams.

"We knew we would need someone with a lot of energy to keep up with Danny Smith," Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan said, "and Richard is that kind of coach. He has both youth and experience, and will be a great asset to our special teams and our organization."

Hightower played collegiately at the University of Texas (1999-2002), joining the team as a walk-on before earning a scholarship during his senior season. At Texas, he played in 33 games, recording 22 tackles while seeing time at defensive back, wide receiver and on special teams.