"I can see Tim Tebow in a mixed martial arts ring, kicking, boxing, grabbling with his opponent.

I can see it because I've seen Tebow on a football field. I've seen him strike with a stiff-arm to ward off linebackers before delivering a pass. I've seen him kick through tacklers and use the wrestling- escape move to avoid sacks.

Question is, will Tebow allow MMA into his disciplined training regimen?

For all the buzz surrounding the hire of former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio as the Broncos' new defensive coordinator, the greatest impact at Dove Valley for the 2012 season may have been the appointment of the "other" guy, strength and conditioning coach Luke Richesson.

The toughest challenge for Richesson, who played his college football on the plains of Kansas and most recently was the Jaguars' conditioning coach along the seafront of Jacksonville: Figuring out the effects that altitude has on the body.

With all due respect to Del Rio, defensive coordinators are a nickel-and-eight pack around here. It doesn't take Nostradamus to predict Del Rio will be coaching elsewhere in 2013. He is Denver's seventh defensive coordinator in seven years. It wouldn't so bad if it becomes eight in eight years because Broncos coach John Fox oversees the defense anyway, and it likely would mean a successful 2012 season.

It's been a while since the Broncos had a good season from start to finish. That's where Richesson comes in. The husband of 1992 Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Anita Nall, Richesson is up on all the modern performance training programs.

He got the nod over Loren Landow, the renowned director of sports performance at The Steadman Clinic who works out Tebow one-on-one at least twice a week and interviewed Thursday with the Broncos brass.

"I appreciated the opportunity the Broncos gave me," Landow said. "They got a very good coach in Luke Richesson."

Get ready, Ryan Clady and Champ Bailey. Richesson has been known to implement MMA drills during his offseason workouts."