PHOENIX — Being the relative new guy in town, head coach Gary Kubiak fully intends to adapt his playbook with the Denver Broncos, which will essentially be the Peyton Manning playbook.

“One of things about having a veteran, especially like Peyton, he’s going to let you know: ‘this is what I do best and this is what I feel comfortable with,'” said Kubiak, who was hired in February to replace John Fox. “That’s what you need to go do as a coach.

“What we’ve done is study what Peyton has done for many, many years and taken some things that I feel good about and kind of crossed two systems together. The bottom line is we’re going to do what he does best — what our players do best. I’ve got a pretty good vision of what I want it to look like and now we’ve got to get to work on it.”

The former Broncos backup quarterback and offensive coordinator roomed with John Elway for 10 years and later coached him in Denver. He also coached Steve Young.

So digging in with Manning, who turned 39 on Tuesday, was nothing new for Kubiak.

Kubiak called plays as offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens last season and before that as head coach of the Houston Texans. He also had the authority while with the Broncos.

The shared responsibility with Manning will be a new first-hand experience for Kubiak, but based on a number of losses as a part of teams trying to stop this offense, Kubiak is glad to defer.

“Obviously I love to run the ball and I love the play (-action),” pass,” Kubiak said. “I love to do those things so there is going to be a commitment there but there is 17 years of investment in what he’s done better than anybody and we’re not going to run away from that.”

Manning returned after contemplating retirement. His season ended on a down note but Kubiak said there are no alterations planned in preparation or conditioning to accomodate for a quarterback advancing in age. True to form, Manning is actually leaning the other way, according to his new coach.

However, at least some of the playbook is based on Manning’s health.

“He’s doing great actually,” Kubiak said. “He’s got some workouts planned with some of his buddies. He’s been working hard. He’s back in Louisiana a little bit and bouncing around a few places, which it sounds like he does all offseason. Every time you talk to him it’s about getting his workout in. ‘Just got through working out, Coach, just got through doing this,’ and so I know he’s getting ready to go. We’ll see him here on the 13th of April.”

One player Kubiak and the Broncos won’t see next month is tight end Julius Thomas, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars but caught 24 of Manning’s touchdown passes the past two seasons. To help fill the void, the Broncos signed Owen Daniels, a veteran who played with the Ravens last season, following Kubiak from Houston. Kubiak said Daniels could easily “walk in a room and teach our offense.”

“He’s a fine player. He’s a great person,” Kubiak said. “Last year he was coming off an injury, so I think everybody was a little skeptical. They were saying, ‘Hey, you’re going to have to go out here and do it again at this stage of your career.’ And he did. We’re just fortunate to get him. Obviously we’ve had to kind of rebuild our tight end position a little bit, and to have his experience — he’s played in a lot of big games and he’ll bring leadership to the football team. I’m just glad he’s part of what we’re doing.”