Ben Jacobs is entering his fourth season as Washington's assistant special teams coach in 2023 after joining the Carolina Panthers coaching staff in 2019. Jacobs played eight seasons in the NFL prior to coaching.
A former NFL linebacker, Jacobs spent eight seasons as a key contributor on all four phases of special teams, recording 31 special teams tackles and eight tackles on defense in 73 career games played.
Jacobs led or tied for the team high in special teams tackles in two of his seasons with Carolina (2014 and 2018) and helped the Panthers win the NFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season.
In 2017, Jacobs played a significant role on a coverage unit that finished eighth in opponents' punt return average, allowing just 5.9 yards per return. In 2016, Jacobs was part of a kickoff coverage unit that allowed a league-low 18.1 yards per kickoff return and finished fifth in the NFL with an opponents' average drive start of the 23.7-yard line.
Jacobs entered the NFL in 2011 with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State.
