Late Jets coach Greg Knapp honored with lifetime achievement award

Late Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp was named one of the recipients of the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman award, which is given out by the Professional Football Writers of America. Knapp shares the 2022 honor with Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

The award is presented to an NFL assistant coach for their lifetime achievement in the league. It’s named after Sports Illustrated reporter Paul Zimmerman, who started covering the NFL in 1966. Zimmerman worked for Sports Illustrated from 1979-2008.

Knapp isn’t the first Jets assistant to win the award. Longtime special teams coach Mike Westoff earned the honor in 2019.

Knapp died last July after being severely injured in a bicycle accident in Northern California. The longtime NFL assistant had recently joined the Jets after Robert Saleh hired him to be the team’s quarterbacks coach in January. Knapp started coaching in the NFL in 1995 and had experience with the Falcons, Broncos, Raiders, Texans, Seahawks and 49ers before coming to New York. The league mourned the loss of the long-time assistant and the Jets honored Knapp with a helmet decal last season.