Red Miller, the first coach to take a Broncos team to the Super Bowl, has died at the age of 89.
Mike Klis of KUSA reports that Miller died on Wednesday morning in a Denver hospital due to complications from a stroke.
Miller had been the offensive line coach for the Patriots before being hired to take over the Broncos in January 1977 following the dimissal of John Ralston. The team, led by the “Orange Crush” defense, would go 12-2 during the regular season and then beat the Steelers and Raiders in the playoffs to advance to Super Bowl XII. They lost that game 27-10 to the Cowboys.
Miller would take the Broncos back to the playoffs the next two years and was let go after going 8-8 during the 1980 season. He later became the first coach of the USFL’s Denver Gold, but was fired before the end of the team’s first season.
Miller will be inducted into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame on November 19. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.
