| 1976 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Gerald Phipps |
| General manager | John Ralston |
| Head coach | John Ralston |
| Home field | Mile High Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1976 Denver Broncos season was the team's 17th year in professional football and its seventh with the National Football League (NFL). The team finished the season with a winning record for the third time in the last four seasons. It was John Ralston's fifth and final season as the Broncos' head coach and general manager. [1] [2]
Denver was looking to improve on its 6–8 record from 1975 and finished 9–5, second in the AFC West; [3] despite the winning record, the team again missed the playoffs, which included only eight teams. Oakland won the division at 13–1 and New England was the sole wild card team in the AFC at 11–3. [4] Since their inception as an original AFL team in 1960, the Broncos had yet to play in the postseason.
Ralston was relieved of his duties as general manager in mid-December, succeeded by assistant GM Fred Gehrke. [5] [6] After several weeks in the restructured organization, Ralston resigned as head coach in late January 1977. [1] [2] Red Miller, the offensive line coach at New England under Chuck Fairbanks, was hired as head coach in early February. [7] [8] Miller had a previous stint with the Broncos as offensive line coach for three seasons (1963–65).
| 1976 Denver Broncos draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Tom Glassic | G | Virginia | |
| 2 | 43 | Kurt Knoff | S | Kansas | |
| 4 | 107 | Craig Penrose | QB | San Diego State | |
| 5 | 139 | Lonnie Perrin | RB | Illinois | |
| 8 | 224 | James Betterson | RB | North Carolina | |
| 9 | 252 | Jim Czirr | C | Michigan | |
| 9 | 260 | Jim Lisko | LB | Arkansas State | |
| 10 | 278 | Art Gilliam | DE | Grambling State | |
| 11 | 306 | Greg Pittman | LB | Iowa State | |
| 12 | 334 | Randy Moore | DT | Arizona State | |
| 13 | 362 | Donnie McGraw | DB | Houston | |
| 14 | 390 | Larry Evans | LB | Mississippi College | |
| 15 | 418 | Wilbur Summers | P | Louisville | |
| 16 | 446 | John Huddleston | LB | Utah | |
| 17 | 474 | Randy Cozens | DE | Pittsburgh | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
|
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
| Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserved
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 7–17 | 0–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,464 | |
| 2 | September 19 | New York Jets | W 46–3 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 62,669 | |
| 3 | September 26 | Cleveland Browns | W 44–13 | 2–1 | Mile High Stadium | 62,975 | |
| 4 | October 3 | San Diego Chargers | W 26–0 | 3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 63,369 | |
| 5 | October 10 | at Houston Oilers | L 3–17 | 3–2 | Astrodome | 45,298 | |
| 6 | October 17 | Oakland Raiders | L 10–17 | 3–3 | Mile High Stadium | 63,431 | |
| 7 | October 24 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 35–26 | 4–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 57,961 | |
| 8 | October 31 | at Oakland Raiders | L 6–19 | 4–4 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,169 | |
| 9 | November 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 48–13 | 5–4 | Mile High Stadium | 62,703 | |
| 10 | November 14 | at San Diego Chargers | W 17–0 | 6–4 | San Diego Stadium | 32,017 | |
| 11 | November 21 | New York Giants | W 14–13 | 7–4 | Mile High Stadium | 63,151 | |
| 12 | November 28 | at New England Patriots | L 14–38 | 7–5 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,128 | |
| 13 | December 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–16 | 8–5 | Mile High Stadium | 58,170 | |
| 14 | December 12 | at Chicago Bears | W 28–14 | 9–5 | Soldier Field | 44,459 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Oakland Raiders (1) | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 7–0 | 10–1 | 350 | 237 | W10 |
| Denver Broncos | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5–2 | 7–5 | 315 | 206 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–5 | 4–8 | 248 | 285 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–5 | 4–8 | 290 | 376 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0–4 | 0–13 | 125 | 412 | L14 |
John R. Ralston was an American football player, coach, and sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Utah State University (1959–1962), Stanford University (1963–1971), and San Jose State University (1993–1996), compiling a career college football record of 97–81–4. Ralston also coached the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1972 to 1976, amassing a record of 34–33–3, and the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983 and part of the 1984 season, tallying a mark of 9–12. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1992.
The Orange Crush Defense was the 3–4 defense of the Denver Broncos during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The National Football League (NFL) team adopted the 3–4 defense during the 1976 season, and the nickname "Orange Crush" for the team's defense was popularized early in the 1977 season by sportswriter/broadcaster Woody Paige.
Robert "Red" Miller was an American professional football coach. He served as the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1977 to 1980. In his first year as Denver's head coach, he led the 1977 Broncos to Super Bowl XII, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Miller was also the head coach of the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL) for one season, in 1983.
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