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MIAMI The blood gushed profusely. Nonstop.

Nothing Bobby Turner nor the Broncos training staff could do stopped his nosebleed. The running backs coach should have gone to the hospital that frigid December day in Kansas City in 2005. But an entire half of football remained in a pivotal divisional game, and Turner wasnt about to abandon his charges.

So, he basically has two towels in his nosein 10-degree weatherat Arrowhead, and just toughed it out, recalled 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel, then a coaching intern with Denver. I was 22 years old thinking, Im not sure that I can do this. He stuck through the game, would not leave his players, and there was no room for deviation. ... He went to the hospital afterwards. Almost needed an extra blood bag, and he didnt care. He refused to stop contributing to his guys.

That display of commitment perfectly encapsulates all that is Bobby Turner.

That was Bobby! Mike Shanahan said. Tough son of a gun!

Few outsiders know his name. But Turner, a 24-year NFL coaching veteran, is one of the pillars of success for Kyle Shanahans Super Bowl-contending 49ers just as he was for Mike Shanahans two-time Super Bowl-winning Broncos.

We call Bobby the O.G. of coaching, Kyle Shanahan saidof the 70-year-old Turner.

A pros pro, 49ers special teams coordinator Richard Hightower praises. A guy that does his job every day and leaves no stone unturned, which is a great testament for us young coaches.

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Denver Broncos running back Tatum Bell chats with running back coach Bobby Turner during drills at the Broncos' facility in southeast Denver, on June 9, 2004. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)(Photo: DAVID ZALUBOWSKI, AP)

During this run to Super Bowl LIV, San Franciscos offense has boasted one of the NFL'smost prolific rushing attacks despite the lack of afeature back. But Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman each rushed for more than 540 yards while combining for 15 touchdowns.

Turners 24 seasons have featured 15 1,000-yard campaigns by eight different backs, and even in the eight seasons where either Denver, Washington, Atlanta or San Francisco lacked a feature back, hispupils combined to give their teams one of the leagues leading rushing attacks.

The offense built by Mike Shanahan and modernized by Kyle Shanahan is known for its creativity and diversity, but the run game serves as the foundation while ensuring balance and unpredictability.

Bobby T. is the key ingredient, said Clinton Portis, who played under Turner in Denver and Washington. Look at that scheme and Bobby Turners track record. In Denver with Terrell (Davis), Olandis (Gary), myself, Tatum Bell, all those backshad 1,000 yards.

"Nobody says, Damn, Bobby T. has a lot of thousand-yard rushers, Portis said."People want to say, Oh, its the system. Well, you could plug a thousand backs into a system, but if you dont have a coach who can teach it and get his players to understand without interfering with that players individual talent, then youre not going to have that success.

The voids in young Bobby Turners life fueled him. He would not let his circumstances define him.

The oldest of 13 children growing up in East Chicago, Indiana, Turner had to fend for himself from the time he turned 12.

He charted his path on his own at that very point in life.His plan:

Ive been confident my whole life. People always ask me where it came from, and I just have to tell them, from me, Turner told USA TODAY Sports. My parents never encouraged me. They were not educated. It was something I sawand that I wanted: to better myself individually.

Turner played defensive back for Indiana State University and graduated with a degree in health and physical education. He then landed a job as an assistant coach for the freshman football and basketball teams at Haworth High School (Indiana), while pursuing his masters in education/administration.

Turner knew what kind of coach he wanted to be. He would invest in his playersas athletes and as human beings.

I believed in that at a very early age, said Turner, who spent 20 years coaching college teams. Because I didnt have that as a player growing up, where a guy is not just a number. Thats been consistent throughout my coaching career.

His work as Purdues offensive coordinator placed him on Mike Shanahans radar as the new Broncos' coach assembled his staff in 1995.The two had never met, which made Shanahans selection rare, but Turner never disappointed.

Everything he said, he did, Shanahan said in a phone interview. He was everything everyone said he was and more. No. 1, hes a great person, a smart guy and a very hard worker. He takes pride in his work with running backs and is tireless, even in the offseason.

All these years later, nothing has changed.

Said Kyle Shanahan, He wont open his door in February and March because for two straight months hes calling every single running back coming out of college, interviewing them, calling their high school coaches. The guy does more work, and is more diligent a running back coach than anyone Ive ever been around. And so when you need an expert on that position, you know Bobby has put in that time.

Because of the stable of productive running backs, people have remarked that the Shanahans could probably plug any back into their offense and still have success.That bothers Turner.

No, these are the right people that were putting into our system," he said."When I'm asked what I think, I tell them what it is. So many men are Yes men, they just want to go along, they dont want to have the head coach or coordinator upset. But I feel strongly about my opinions because I put so much into it.

Kyle Shanahan was a high school freshman when he met Turner. WhenAtlanta hired him as offensive coordinator in 2016, one of Shanahans first calls was to Turner.

It was pretty cool because it was the first time that I thought, hed always been my dads guy, but he was finally my guy, Kyle Shanahan said. I love the guy.

Players love Turner too, even though they describe him as demanding.

Hes big on studying, fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. Hes famous for his pregame tests. Theyre eight pages long and we have to fill out every single route that we could run and fill out different pass-blocking protections and explain it. He keeps you on your toes.

McDaniel, who was a ball boy for the Broncos in 1996 when he met Turner andhas studied his every move since, summed it up perfectly.

Truth be told, in an era where hard coaching is a lost art, he makes a human connection with his players thats strong enough that they actually appreciate. And 10, 20 years later, his players always see him, give him a hug and thank him. Its just awesome to see the numbers over time, reflect what everyone has always known. Its why the Coach Shanahans dont do football without running backs coach Bobby Turner.

Follow USA TODAY Sports Mike Jones on Twitter@ByMikeJonesand listen to theFootball Jones podcaston iTunes.

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Opinion: 'Bobby T.' is the often overlooked constant in the Shanahans' success - USA TODAY