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.
Denver was looking to improve on its 6–8 record from 1975 and finished 9–5, second in the AFC West; 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. 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. After several weeks in the restructured organization, Ralston resigned as head coach in late January 1977. Red Miller, the offensive line coach at New England under Chuck Fairbanks, was hired as head coach in early February. Miller had a previous stint with the Broncos as offensive line coach for three seasons (1963–65).
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1976 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMike DunafonWide receiverNorthern ColoradoSteve GallowayWide ReceiverVirginia TechHarvey GoodmanGuardColoradoSteve ManniGuardBoston CollegeMark SeymourTight endWyoming
Personnel Staff
Roster
Schedule 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.
Standings
References
External links Denver Broncos – 1976 media guide 1976 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1976 Denver Broncos on Pro-Football-Reference.com