Dwayne Stukes says reaching special-teams standard he wants will ‘take longer than a year’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — So much has not gone according to plan this season for Broncos special-teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes.

His primary returner, Montrell Washington, suffered ball-security issues. The intended lineups on his return and coverage units were decimated by injuries. His punter, Corliss Waitman, struggled with consistency in his first full-time NFL role after getting the job ahead of veteran Sam Martin. And kicker Brandon McManus had two field-goal attempts blocked, lingers in the bottom tier of kickers in field-goal percentage and missed a pair of extra points after snap or hold issues.

Further, the quality of blocking on kickoff returns often rankled Stukes. He saw that unit “challenged” — in his words — by opponents who passed up sure touchbacks to force his team to try and reach the 25-yard line. Too often, it didn’t, and the challenges persisted.

And that doesn’t even mention the penalties that could age a coach by a decade in a single year.

This is how a unit ranks No. 32 in Football Outsiders’ special-teams DVOA rankings through 15 weeks.

There are reasons for the struggles, of course. The previous paragraphs alluded to some of those. But through it all, Stukes never lost even a scintilla of his fire and evangelical fervor for his work and for trying to maximize his players.

So, when it goes right, one can’t blame him for being giddy.

And when P.J. Locke successfully downed Waitman’s punt last Sunday at the Arizona 3-yard line in the final moments, effectively rendering a last-gasp comeback impossible, Stukes was a tornado of smiles, pats and hugs for his teammates — including an embrace for Waitman, who has shown flashes of becoming a premier placement punter, but has struggled with consistency issues often endemic to young players.

When that moment was brought up to Stukes on Thursday, he smiled.

“I just think it was it was a step in the right direction,” Stukes said. “We know Corliss has had some punts that have gone in the end zone that we wish were down inside the 10, the 5, the 1, etc.

“That punt at end of the game when our team needed the momentum, our team needed a big play as far as giving our defense the long field, it definitely meant a lot for me because you can start to see growth in Corliss. We asked him to play the ball inside the 5-yard line. He had a great bounce and then P.J. [Locke], to secure the ball inside the 5, he went and knocked it back.

“So, I think it was just a feeling where you know, you’ve been talking about things for so long and now it finally took place on the field. So it was a good thing for Corliss, and it was a good thing for the guys.”

And it provided a gleam of tangible evidence that despite the woes, it’s moving in the right direction — and that Stukes’ guidance is working.

Further, Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams is significant for him. Not only does he face his old team, but his longtime mentor, former Broncos special-teams coordinator and Arvada native Joe DeCamillis.

Stukes first got to know DeCamillis when he was in Atlanta Falcons training camp in 2000. He rejoined him with the Dallas Cowboys in 2012 as a minority coaching intern. Then, the two worked together in Chicago (2013-14), Jacksonville (2017-20) and Los Angeles (2021). They talk weekly — except for this week, of course.

“[DeCamillis] has helped my growth as a coach. He’s helped my knowledge as far as schemes, analytics, game management, etc.” Stukes said. “He’s meant the world to me as far as my coaching, maturity and becoming the coach that I am today.”

“I hope that I can be the same coach and coach in the league for 30-plus years like he has.”

DeCamillis is the son-in-law of the late Ring of Fame coach, Dan Reeves. It was Reeves who gave him his first break, hiring him as to work as an administrative assistant in 1989. He moved to special teams with the New York Giants in 1993. That started a path that wound him back to Denver in 2015 for the Broncos’ run to Super Bowl 50.

Last year, DeCamillis got ring No. 2. The Rams ranked fourth in the NFL in special-teams DVOA with DeCamillis and Stukes guiding them. Denver hasn’t ranked in the league’s top half in that category since DeCamillis was around.

“He has a lot of knowledge. He knows how to get his units prepared and ready to play,” Stukes said. “And that’s what I’m trying to build here.”

But Stukes’ unit ranks 32nd in special-teams DVOA. It is 20th in Pro Football Focus’ metrics.

Stukes believes he can get the Broncos to the level the Rams reached last year. However …

“It’s going to take longer than a year to get the guys to the standard that we want them to play at consistently,” he said.

“Yes, we flashed in periods of times. But we have to maintain that consistent high level of play throughout the entire year. And hopefully we can get to that these last three games and continue to build on that into the next year.”

Whether he gets that extra year might rely on other factors beyond special teams as anything else. Chief among those is whether head coach Nathaniel Hackett gets a chance to run it back, too.

But Stukes has the pedigree and the knowledge from his mentor — attributes that helped the Broncos before, and could help them again if he can return for a second season.

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