John Denney has played for eight Dolphins coaches and in 224 games for the franchise, second-most behind Dan Marino

DAVIE — Only 13 men have ever coached the Miami Dolphins. Snapper John Denney has played for eight of them.

This is a preposterous statistic, of course. But it illustrates just how long Denney, 40, has played, and so first-year coach Brian Flores respects that.

But Flores has come to respect Denney for more than his longevity. On Monday, Flores was trying to make a point about the type of leadership he's seeking and he, without solicitation, put forward Denney.

"John Denney is a good example of that," Flores said. "He comes in, he works hard, he puts the team first. He works hard in the weight room. Nobody is in better shape than him. When he speaks, people listen. So he has leadership attributes."

RELATED: Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores: We’re not ‘anointing’ or ‘crowning’ Josh Rosen yet

It is true that Miami's roster is incredibly young. Denney was born in 1978.

When long-snapping competitor Wesley Farnsworth was born, Denney was 18 and about to begin a two-year church mission before starting a college career that concluded at BYU.

When Denney played his first game for the Dolphins, in 2005, quarterback Josh Rosen was 8. So yes, Denney's been around a minute.

"Sometimes the jokes, the one liners, the movie references, the music references, go right over their heads," Denney said with a smile Monday. "Movies they've never even seen. They haven't even seen the original "Top Gun." I'm in denial. I think I'm still one of these guys running around young and nimble."

Only Dan Marino (242) has played in more games as a Dolphin than John Denney (224). Denney has played for Nick Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sparano, Todd Bowles, Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell and Adam Gase. And on Thursday, he'll presumably play for Flores.

So Denney has a unique perspective of the strengths and weaknesses of each of those coaches. And he has a positive first impression of Flores.

"Their personalities are all unique, the way they demand respect, especially Flores," Denney said. "His love and passion for the game, it's contagious. You see how important it is and how hard he works. And so you want to support him and do everything you can to make him and the guys around you successful."

There are only three players in their 30s on Miami's roster (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Daniel Kilgore and Reshad Jones). Flores is looking for leadership anywhere he can find it.

Previous coaches have cited Denney — which might seem unlikely given his position — as a positive influence on players beyond the special teams units. How many other snappers have delivered a pregame speech before an important game during a playoff run?

So, what is Denney's approach?

"In my situation, the best thing I can do is lead by example," Denney said. "I'm not a big rah-rah guy. If it's not organic, guys see right through it. I'm not going to be screaming and yelling. But I'm going to be out there working as hard or harder than everybody else. Putting in the extra time. Doing all the little things, all the controllables. As best as I can."

There are players on this roster with some leadership skills, such as Fitzpatrick, Kilgore, Kenny Stills, Akeem Spence, Walt Aikens, Bobby McCain, Jerome Baker and — especially in future years — Minkah Fitzpatrick and Christian Wilkins.

But imagine what the youngest Miami players think when they process the work ethic of Denney, who has played in 224 consecutive games, a streak dating back to 2005, when Saban — like Flores, a Bill Belichick disciple — was coaching the Dolphins.

They see a guy who, at 40, has no doubt he's doing exactly what he should be doing.

"I still enjoy it," Denney said. "It's not a grind. It's not a conflict. I'm not on the fence. If there was I wouldn't be out here."

Those youngsters see a guy who does things the way their coach, Flores, admires.

"Especially the young guys," Denney said. "They're looking around, they're like, 'What's the standard? What's expected? What are guys doing that have been around here? What are they doing?' So you want to show them what it takes. You want to stick around and be successful, this is what it looks like."

Miami Dolphins’ first depth chart revealed! What we learned

@schadjoe

jschad@pbpost.com