ENGLEWOOD - Scott O’Brien is going to make Mike Shanahan look like a genius.

Every football coach alive wakes up, rolls off the office couch preaching about the three phases of football: offense, defense and special teams. Two of the three get stressed. More often than not, special teams gets the preglass slipper-Cinderella treatment.

Coaches talk about its importance but rarely act on their talk.

Shanahan was one of those wayward coaches until he hired Scott O’Brien earlier this year. O’Brien comes to the Broncos with 22 years of experience (14 in the NFL) just coaching special teams.

O’Brien is to special teams what Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Bates are supposed to be to their respective positions — he’s a guru, a trendsetter.

O’Brien even has a special teams playbook that rivals some offensive playbooks.

Special teams are O’Brien’s passion. They’re his endgame. If he wants to be a head coach or an offensive or defensive coordinator, he hasn’t shown it.

“He’s the first person I’ve been around in special teams who plays the game,” Broncos defensive assistant Keith Burns said. Burns spent 13 years in the NFL mostly as a special teams player. “By that, I mean he wants the players to know what to do in every situation. Four minutes out, offense knows what it’s going to do. Defense knows what it’s going to do. Well, we have a fourminute punt. Whether we’re up or down, we know what we’re going to do.”

That may seem small, mundane or insignificant. But, remember this is the Broncos. For at least the past four seasons their special teams have been mediocre at best.

So, even the smallest things will improve that squad.

“He is thorough, and that is the difference between him and a lot of the other special teams coaches around the league,” Broncos fullback Kyle Johnson said. The Carolina Panthers drafted Johnson in 2002, and O’Brien was his first special teams coach. “You’re going to be well versed in knowing exactly what you’re supposed to do per play, per situation depending on how much time is on the clock. He’s exact.

“He was my first taste of a special team’s coach. I thought they were all like that. As time goes by, the bar for special teams gets raised, inch-by-inch. He will not subside.”

The Broncos finally have a three-headed creature that should demand respect — three ways.

A full year with secondyear quarterback Jay Cutler gives Shanahan, widely thought of as an offensive guru, the time needed to steer the Broncos’ offense the correct way. Bates is the defensive specialist, the brains behind successful squads in Miami and Green Bay. Expect a more aggressive Broncos’ defense this season, starting with training camp in two weeks. And in my book, in the NFL, more aggressive equates to being better.

O’Brien’s job will be to equal or surpass Shanahan and Bates.

Think back to last season’s Broncos’ home game against the San Diego Chargers for proof of the importance of special teams — not just on a game, but a season.

The Broncos had a 24-7 lead when their special teams, and season, fell apart. The Chargers scored on their last four possessions.

On three of the possessions, the Broncos’ special teams allowed the Chargers to start on their 40-yard line or better. The other was an interception returned for a touchdown.

San Diego’s kick returner, Michael Turner, averaged 36.5 yards, helping the Chargers to an average starting field position of their 36-yard line, 15 yards better than the Broncos.

Those with great field position dramatically increase their opportunities to win. Those without lose the game, then lose 5-of-7 games, and don’t make the playoffs.

“Football is a game of situations,” O’Brien said. “The only thing we can do is dress rehearsals. For us as coaches, it’s not only our responsibility to give them a good plan, to practice them hard, but we’ve got to teach them football. We’ve got to teach them strategy.

“You’ve got to teach so players know what to expect. If you practice like that, when you play, to me, it’s like déjà vu. They’ve been there before. They’re poised. They know how to handle it. You don’t just teach them their responsibilities, but you teach them why they have responsibilities and why we do it like that and how it fits into the big picture.”

Columnist Milo F. Bryant can be reached at 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazette.com. Check out Milo's blog, The Extra Milo, at

http://milobryant.blogspot.com/