ENGLEWOOD - Clay. Good.

Sand. Bad.

Welcome to the Broncos special teams. And Scott O'Brien has been hired by coach Mike Shanahan to find the difference.

"You either have a handful of clay or a handful of sand," O'Brien said Wednesday during an introductory news conference with the team's new assistant coaches. "Me, I like the clay because I can't control the sand. You can make something out of the clay.

"But our message is there's an attitude you have to play with, a standard you have to meet. You can't be the faint of heart here now. It doesn't matter if you're returning or covering, you can't be the faint of heart."

And after a season when the Broncos finished 31st in the league in average drive start after kickoffs - at the 23.5-yard line - and tied for 28th in drives started inside their 20 after receiving a kickoff, Shanahan was hunting for a change.

"That's our No. 1 job, we've got to control vertical field position," O'Brien said. "We've got to contribute to keeping our defense on a long field and putting our offense on a short one."

O'Brien was the league's special teams coach of the year in 1994 and has coached units that have sent returners to the Pro Bowl.

O'Brien, returning to coaching a unit after two seasons as Nick Saban's assistant to the head coach in Miami, likes the potential of Domenik Hixon, a draft pick in 2006 who was a kick returner at Akron but missed his rookie season recovering from a fractured left foot he suffered in a predraft workout, and Brian Clark as kickoff returners.

O'Brien added the Broncos bringing back punter Todd Sauerbru also was "always a possibility." Sauerbrun was released in October after he returned from a four-game suspension for testing positive for ephedra.

JOHNSON NOT WORRIED: Before discussing his front four, defensive line coach Bill Johnson talked about the one that got away.

Johnson had a close relationship with free-agent defensive end Patrick Kerney from their six years together in Atlanta. But it wasn't enough to net arguably the top pass-rushing player at his position in the open market.

Kerney called Johnson late Tuesday to say he was heading to the Seattle Seahawks.

Johnson made it clear he believes the cupboard isn't entirely bare, despite the setback.

He said new acquisition Dan Wilkinson is "a big piece of the puzzle" because it will allow the Broncos to pair him with Gerard Warren at defensive tackle and form a massive interior pair.

"We needed some size," Johnson said. "People who are stopping the run in the NFL, one relationship is they have big people inside on defense, especially with the type of scheme we're going to try to do."

BLY UPDATE: There has been speculation cornerback Dré Bly is unhappy he was dealt to the Broncos instead of the Washington Redskins, who are located near his Chesepeake, Va., home.

Bly is in the final year of his contract and will make $4.2 million next season. He had been seeking a lucrative extension when trade talks involved the Redskins and Detroit Lions, who sent Bly and a sixth-round pick to the Broncos last week for Tatum Bell, George Foster and a fifth-round pick.

"Right now, we're planning on Dré Bly being here," assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates said. "Once he really has time to step back and sees this organization and sees himself playing next to Champ (Bailey) and that it's a golden opportunity for him . . . I think he'll be excited about playing for us."

SMITH OUT: One of the proudest accomplishments of Rod Smith's long Broncos career has been his perfect attendance for 12 years in the offseason conditioning program.

But when the session begins this year, Smith will be rehabilitating after having undergone an arthroscopic clean-out procedure Feb. 26 on his left hip.

The recovery time is four months, so Smith figures to miss all the team's minicamps but should be ready for training camp in July.

ETC.: Quarterback Anthony Wright, formerly of Cincinnati, arrived in Denver for his two-day visit, the latest candidate to possibly back up Jay Cutler. . . . Cornerback Bailey saved the team nearly $3.6 million in salary-cap room by restructuring his contract last week.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359