Broncos new special teams coordinator will bring no-nonsense approach
Feb 22, 2022, 1:26 PM
Anyone who has watched the Broncos special teams the past five years has seen a consistent theme. Whether the group was being helmed by Brock Olivo or Tom McMahon, it was a phase of the game riddled with blunders, mistakes and miscues.
Whether that’s the fault of the past two special teams coordinators or the players is open for debate. A revolving door of players on the bottom half of the roster would suggest that it was more about the scheme than the execution, but that’s a different discussion for another day.
For the person in charge of righting that ship, it’s a moot point. Dwayne Stukes isn’t concerned about what went awry in the past.
“I’m not here to critique the scheme from last year; that’s not my job,” the new special teams coordinator said on Tuesday. “My job is to get the guys this year to play at a high level. I don’t want to talk about what happened last year. All I can talk about is the scheme we’re going to run and how excited I am to work with the guys.”
On that front, Stukes sees a lot of good pieces. He likes what he has to work with.
“We have a lot of talent on this roster,” he added. “We have core special teams players on this roster. We have guys who can help and play at a high level on this roster. So I’m excited to work with the guys we have in the building.”
By the sound of it, everyone will be asked to play special teams. It’s a phase that will be required of everyone.
“We’re not just trying to field 11 guys; that’s not what we’re trying to do,” Stukes continued. “We’re trying to raise the standard and build a culture around here where guys are excited to take part in special teams. It’s a ‘we’ not ‘me’ mentality. In order for us to get where we want to, everyone has to buy in and play special teams, no matter their role on the team.”
Everyone involved will be asked to play one way.
“We want to have an attack mentality,” Stukes explained. “We want to play fast. We want to be physical. We want to dictate to our opponents the tempo of the game. That’s our goal.”
That goal will be achievable once everyone buys in.
“There are techniques we’ll teach these guys that will hopefully put them in a position to make plays consistently,” Stukes continued. “The culture will change as guys get familiar with the scheme. Once guys see the success of the scheme, that’s when you get the buy in.”
Tuesday didn’t feature catchy soundbites from the Broncos special teams coordinator. There was nothing about “22 Janos,” nor were there analogies about boats and wild animals.
Instead, there was a serious tone. Dwayne Stukes is a no-nonsense guy. It feels like the perfect approach for a phase of the game that has been way too loose in recent years.
