The Good, the Great, the Ugly: Denver's Head Coaches, 1960-2022

Since the team's inception in 1960, the Denver Broncos have seen 17 men hold the reins of Colorado's beloved franchise. It's been a long, sometimes crazy, ride.

The Denver Broncos' roots have to do with baseball. Bob Howsam was a minor league baseball executive in Denver, back in the 1950's as his family owned the Denver Bears baseball team. Their family built Bears Stadium, which later became Mile High Stadium.

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Howsam tried to get an NFL team in Denver, but was turned down; he did manage to get a franchise team with the fledgling American Football League (AFL.) The Denver Broncos took the field for the first time, the AFL's very first game, in 1960 versus the Boston Patriots. They won that game and would win many more for the next 60 years.

The team has seen a flurry of Head Coaches. From that very first man, the somewhat shady Frank Filchock, to the most recent, some would say 'lackluster,' Vic Fangio. Denver fans are known to be some of the greatest, selling out tickets to home games for decades. The fans are also known to share their love and disdain for whoever is the Head Coach, loudly.

As fans, we've seen success, and we've seen failure, It took 10 seasons for the Broncos to have their first winning season. I think that's where a lot of the love of the Broncos comes from; having to endure so much 'blech' before becoming a worthy team, you get very attached along the way.

Remember when they won that first Super Bowl, after being four and walking away with losses? That was a great day. Remember Josh McDaniels? That wasn't fun. Remember Red Miller? How about Lou Saban?

Let's take a look back at over 60 years of Denver Broncos Head Coaches.

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Filed Under: Denver Broncos