Seahawks special teams extend beyond flashy returner Rashid Shaheed | Dave Boling

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Calling this one in advance: A big play by the special teams will be a huge, perhaps pivotal, moment in a Seahawks’ win on Sunday in Super Bowl 60.

Not exactly going out on a creaky limb with that vision, since returns and kicks so often sway teams’ fortunes.

But, in one of the most ironic episodes in franchise history, Seahawks fans will be tempted to carry a guy named Harbaugh off the field as a key factor in the win.

Jay Harbaugh, son of Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh (noted Seahawks nemesis), nephew of Giants coach John Harbaugh, has coached the Seahawks to the top of the NFL’s special-teams standings.

Seattle finished this season ranked No.1 overall in ESPN’s special-teams rankings.

Punter Michael Dickson and returner Rashid Shaheed were both named to the Pro Bowl, and placekicker Jason Myers led the league in scoring (171 points). Myers’ total stands as third in single-season scoring in the history of the league (trailing only LaDainian Tomlinson, in 2006, and Paul Hornung, 1960).

Shaheed draws attention with his flashy returns, but the consistently elite performances by Dickson and Myers probably don’t get the attention they deserve.

Even more overlooked are the contributions of a special-teams core, primarily Brady Russell, Dareke Young, Jake Bobo, A.J. Barner, Mike Morris, Coby Bryant, Chris Stoll, Eric Saubert, Tyrice Knight, and Patrick O’Connell.

Harbaugh, in his second season in Seattle, credits head coach Mike Macdonald for his focus on treating special teams as a full one-third partner in the football enterprise, and is grateful to general manager John Schneider for identifying the kind of players who tend to be successful on special teams.

“I’m super appreciative of Mike because not every head coach will use their platform in front of the whole team to make it about all phases,” Harbaugh said during media sessions prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl 60 showdown against the New England Patriots. “It means a lot when he is setting a tone and (sending) the message of high expectations.”

Probably like most coaches talking about their group of players, Harbaugh adjudges special-teams’ players as higher-caliber humans.

“The guys we have are fantastic people,” Harbaugh said. “They’re football guys, team guys, not egotistical, self-serving people. These are players who are in it for the right reason, who want to help the team win. Those types of players tend to be good on special teams.”

Humanitarians, but with a taste for high-speed collisions.

So, Schneider gets the right guys, Macdonald instills in them the belief that they are crucial to team success, and Harbaugh coaches them up, crafting stratagems as devious as your better offenses or defenses.

“The biggest thing is the group of guys we have playing,” said Brady Russell, special-teams captain, who also plays tight end/fullback. “Everybody treats it as if it’s their own primary position. Special teams isn’t just a side job, it’s (our) main job. Jay does a great job of getting us in great places to take advantage of what the other team is giving us.”

When the National Football League instituted a compressed kickoff system to reduce injuries, they called it the “dynamic kickoff.”

Harbaugh clearly has taken the term literally, and turned returns into an offensive play capable of scoring points and changing the momentum of the game.

“It’s just football,” Harbaugh said. “In a lot of ways, it’s easier to digest, visually, than the old play because it’s in a more confined space, easier to see what’s transpiring. There’s great inspiration to be had from offensive and defensive football. People have, in the last two years, spent a lot of time figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and trying to solve problems better than the other guys.”

In the game-opening kickoff return against the 49ers in the division round of the playoffs, Shaheed set the tempo for the game with a 95-yard touchdown return.

It worked to perfection: The Hawks’ return team didn’t even block the outside two defenders on the right side, leaving extra players to cross-block an alley at the point of attack.

It relied on Shaheed to sprint into the alley before the free-running outside coverage men could get to him, in essence, running themselves out of the play.

Russell dropped back and pulled to the right, having a perfect blocking angle, as when he executes a Wham block from the tight end spot.

Brady, you guys didn’t even block two guys, intentionally, right?

“I know, (laughs) crazy, right?”

This group has been sharp all season. At Pittsburgh, George Holani scored a touchdown by recovering a kickoff that went into the end zone. The Steelers rookie running back, Kaleb Johnson, not understanding the rule, ignored it, while the Seahawks knew it was still a live ball. All Holani had to do was fall on it. Six points.

Another obvious example of the Seahawks’ valuing special teams: According to reports, the Hawks have the highest annual expenditure in the league on kicker and punter, allotting $9.3 million to Dickson and Myers.

But they’re getting what they’re paying for.