Keith Burns played for the Broncos for 11 seasons and coached them for six seasons. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Special teams for the Denver Broncos last season was, well, special. Ex-Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan took notice and recruited his former player and assistant coach over to the Washington Redskins.

According to Mike Jones and Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the Redskins have reached an agreement with special teams assistant Keith Burns. This will be Burns’ first job as a head position coach.

Burns was with the Broncos for six seasons, first as a special teams assistant, then as a coaching assistant, and then as the assistant special teams coach.

Before his coaching days, Burns played in the NFL for 13 years with 11 of those seasons coming as a Bronco. He was a celebrated special teams player, and entered the league as a seventh-round draft pick in 1994 out of Oklahoma State University. Burns played in 197 career games, and totaled 231 special-teams tackles as well as 77 career defensive stops, 1.5 sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble.

Burns helped the Broncos earn three AFC West titles, and he was a key member of the Broncos Super Bowl teams in 1997 and 1998.

As a coach, Burns has worked with units that have accounted for 10 touchdown returns, and three blocked punts. He’s coached five players who have totaled eight AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards.

“Keith was an excellent special teams player and a strong influence in the locker room for two Super Bowl championship teams,” Shanahan said. “I know our players will enjoy playing for him.” – The Washington Post

Burns is well-deserving of this coaching promotion, and should do very well with the Redskins. Best of luck to one of the most loyal Broncos of all time.

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Travis Henry was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2001 draft. (Fox News)

The Denver Broncos have had a laundry list of rotating running backs over the last decade. Many have come, spent just one season in Denver, and then moved on.

One that is most infamous in recent history is Travis Henry. Henry played just one season for the Broncos in 2007-2008. During that year, he averaged 57.6 yards per game, and had 7 touchdowns in 12 games. He was actually leading the league in rushing after four games that season before being hampered by injuries.

In June of 2008, Mike Shanahan released Henry from the team citing that he wasn’t committed enough to the Broncos. Not long after that, Henry was suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Then just a month later, he was arrested for funding a cocaine-trafficing operation. He served a three-year term in prison.

Now that his sentence has come to an end, Henry wants to make a return to the NFL, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio.

Henry turns 34 years old in October, and is nine years removed from his best season in the NFL when he was with the Buffalo Bills and averaged 90.4 yards per game.

Henry’s off the field troubles don’t just stem from substance abuse issues. He has fathered eleven children with ten different women, and has ongoing issues with child support payments.

A comeback from Henry would require a complete change in lifestyle, and a full commitment to getting his body back into playing shape.

Henry has played in the NFL for seven seasons with the Bills, Titans, and Broncos. He has 6,086 rushing yards, 38 rushing touchdowns, 951 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, and 16 lost fumbles during his career.

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Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) breaks free for a long touchdown run as Denver Broncos linebacker Mario Haggan (57) defends in the Panthers 30-10 victory against the Broncos. The Panthers and Broncos meet again on November 11, 2012 in Carolina. (Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE)

T-minus 57 days and counting – Week One of the 2012 NFL season is less than two months away!  To help fill the time between now and that greatly anticipated event, I am continuing to look back on some of the games the Broncos have had against their 2012 opponents.  Week Ten of the 2012 season sends the Broncos on the road for the second consecutive week when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to face the Carolina Panthers.  Let’s hope the Broncos’ second regular season road trip to Carolina has much different results than the first trip!

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