DENVER — Rod Smith was his guy, if anyone must verify Klint Kubiak’s Colorado credentials.

This works, too: “And I loved the offensive linemen. Tom Nalen, Danny Neil. Those guys were awesome. They were kind of the pillars (of that Broncos era),” Kubiak says. “I loved those guys.”

Check. Check. And check.

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And here we thought the Kubiak era was over. All three of the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl titles came with Gary Kubiak intimately involved in the organization — Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, with Kubiak as offensive coordinator, and Super Bowl 50, with “Kubes” as a masterful head coach.

Now Klint Kubiak — the 35-year-old son and former Regis Jesuit and Colorado State standout — is back with the Broncos as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. It’s only right.

Saturday, the Broncos host the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High in their preseason finale. Klint Kubiak spent the past three seasons with the Vikings as offensive coordinator and QBs coach.

And shouldn’t it be state law by now? In some capacity, the Broncos must employ a Kubiak. Gary Kubiak was part of six of their eight Super Bowl appearances. And his magic in 2015 — balancing the Peyton Manning-Brock Osweiler shuffle, not to mention a volatile cauldron of personalities on an all-time defense — remains the finest coaching job I’ve seen anywhere.

As Klint surmised: “With my Dad, the first thing that comes to mind is his humility. He was always so quick to praise others and emphasize team-first and how it takes all 11.”

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These days Dad is hanging out on the family ranch near Houston, Klint told The Gazette. And Klint’s back here at his “second home” of Colorado, a married father of three. Klay Kubiak, one brother, is an assistant quarterbacks coach with Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers, while Klein, another brother, is a scout with the Cowboys. See, that state law is very possible.

Klint’s childhood centered around the Broncos’ golden era, back-to-back titles in ’97 and ‘98.

“Growing up, I got to do the ball boy thing. That was so much fun. All the training camps in Greeley – I remember watching all the drills. That was how I grew up,” he says. “At the time you don’t know how cool it was. You don’t know how fortunate you are, hanging around Rod Smith and those guys. They’re legends. And it was our life. You come back, you think about it again.”

This is Klint’s second stint on the Broncos staff, the first from 2016-18 as an offensive assistant. He didn’t say this, but I can: now is a decidedly better time to work with Broncos quarterbacks.

Thanks, Russell Wilson.

Here’s how Kubiak described the new offensive brain trust of the Broncos, from himself to Nathaniel Hackett to Wilson: “Very collaborative. Coach Hackett is so collaborative. It’s not just a one-man show. It’s Russell, Coach Hackett, Coach JO (Justin Outten, the offensive coordinator). It’s a lot of guys bringing their knowledge together. Then we come out here on the field and we have to be one voice. I think coach does a great job of getting us organized. Then Russell, the way he executes the plan is second-to-none. Just an absolute pro.”

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The same is true of Klint Kubiak, according to Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, a longtime family friend of the Kubiaks. Calhoun was a Broncos assistant coach before moving on to be Gary Kubiak’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach with the Houston Texans in 2006. Calhoun’s time with Klint dates back to watching Klint’s high school ballgames at Regis Jesuit.

“I’m telling you nobody works harder. Literally, if you ask who’s going to show up first at the building in the morning, it’s going to be Klint,” Calhoun said. “And it has helped to learn from the influences he has. You’re talking about great football people. (He has) strong leadership qualities, the whole deal. Great, great football mind.”

Half Texan, half Coloradan, Klint Kubiak’s football roots run orange and blue.

“In the NFL you don’t get to pick where you work,” he says. “If we could pick anywhere I’m glad it’s in Denver.”

There’s no place like (a second) home.