Thoughts on Red Miller (Broncos)

[Bryan]

I always thought Red Miller had a very strange career in that he kind of showed up, made the Super Bowl and went to the playoffs his first few years, somehow got fired, and then never really got back into the NFL. I admittedly am ignorant about Red Miller's career, so I did some "research" and here is what I found:

*Red Miller went to Western Illinois and ended up being an assistant there for Lou Saban in the late 50's. When Saban became head coach of the Patriots in 1960, Miller went with him. (I did not know that Miller's lineage could be traced back to the original AFL days). When Saban went to the Buffalo Bills, Miller went with him there, too. For the next several years Miller served different teams as an offensive line coach. He was hired by Chuck Fairbanks with the Patriots in 1973 and served as the de facto offensive coordinator. New England had a big year in 1976 and Miller became a hot item.

*Meanwhile, in Denver, John Ralston has been serving as both HC and GM from 1972 - 1976 leading them to their only winning seasons in franchise history. Ralston's lack of coaching acumen has become apparent, yet for reasons unknown the Broncos allow Ralston to stay on in 1977 as HC, but he is stripped of his GM duties and replaced by Fred "Ram Helmet" Gehrke. (I did not understand this, as Ralston was always a good judge of talent going back to his Utah State days...it would make more sense if Ralston was made GM and someone else became the HC). Gehrke's first move is to offer the Broncos OC position to Red Miller, but Miller declines because he thinks he is in line for the better LA Rams job as Chuck Knox was supposedly leaving for the Lions job (I did not know this scenario was in play after 1976).

*Bronco players revolt before the start of the 1977 season, Knox stays at LA, and Gehrke fires Ralston and now offers the Broncos HC position to Miller, which he accepts. (I always thought that Miller was already on the Broncos staff, and was simply promoted to HC.) Miller wins Coach of the Year honors, makes 77 SB, playoffs in 78 & 79, but the team backslides a bit in 1980 and they go 8-8. An interesting thing about Miller's tenure is that although he is an offensive coach, that side of the ball usually struggled and the Broncos won with their great defense. So kind of like Brian Billick. But regardless, I find it very odd that Miller got fired after his first non-playoff year considering how mediocre the Broncos had been in their history.

*The story is that a new owner purchased the Broncos franchise after the 1980 season. His first move was to fire GM Fred Gehrke, because apparently Gehrke was a bad contract negotiator and the Broncos had the highest payroll in the NFL. (Player salary data from that era is hard to find, but I remember seeing that Claudie Minor was like the 6th highest paid player in the NFL, so there is probably merit to Gehrke's poor negotiation skill)). The owner next met with Red Miller, and Miller said something like "I shouldn't have to ask you if my job is safe", and the owner fired him on the spot.

*After being fired, a few teams including the Packers were interested in hiring Miller as their OC, but nothing ever happened. Maybe Miller was holding out for a HC job? But even so, judging from his record, you'd think SOMEONE in 1981 would have given Miller a HC job. But that didn't happen. And it didn't happen in 1982, either. So Miller's last stop was as HC with the USFL's Denver Gold in 1983. Partway through the year, Miller got into an argument with the owner because the owner wouldn't spend any money, and once again Miller got himself fired on the spot. And that was his last coaching gig.

[Brian wolf]

Ralston wasn't a bad coach but Miller took the next step and deserves credit for rejuvenating Morton's career. Great victories gainst the Steelers and Raiders in 1977/78 but the offensive line was horrible against the Cowboys in the SB. The Steelers got revenge in the 78/79 postseason and the Broncos lost a physical playoff game against the Oilers the following year. Miller deserved another chance after being fired ...

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Those were my first few seasons of watching football and I liked the Broncos for a number of reasons, but for kids a lot of times it's the helmets/uniforms and I just loved those old Denver helmets. So, to me as a youngster, it was very confusing why Miller was fired and why he never coached anywhere else. Was always a big mystery to me as well. I remember when Reeves was hired and he turned out to be great, IMO. Oddly enough, the Broncos fired Reeves after an 8-8 season as well.

[7DnBrnc53]

I heard that the GM and Red Miller were fired because Edgar Kaiser wanted people around his age at those positions. That's why Grady Alderman and Dan Reeves were brought in.

Miller brought in Craig Morton, and he had the fire that John Ralston didn't have. However, the Broncos made bad personnel decisions during his time there. The Robinson trade was terrible, and they didn't draft that well, either.

Ralston must have let Carroll Hardy (a scout or exec for the Broncs, not sure which. Joel Buchsbaum was high on him) help him, because the Broncos drafted well when he was there. Miller must have ignored Carroll, because the Broncos drafted much worse when he was HC.

Two of his first round picks, Steve Schindler (Red probably saw him a lot because Steve played at BC when he was coaching with the Pats) and Kelvin Clark, were flat out busts, and Don Latimer (his 78 first-rounder) didn't set the world on fire. Also, he wasn't great in Round 2, either. Rob Lytle over Wendell Tyler was a mistake, and the guy they drafted in 78, William Gay, was cut (he was originally a TE when he came out of USC, but he went to Detroit, switched to defensive line, and became a good player).

[SixtiesFan]

I always thought Red Miller had a very strange career in that he kind of showed up, made the Super Bowl and went to the playoffs his first few years, somehow got fired, and then never really got back into the NFL. I admittedly am ignorant about Red Miller's career, so I did some "research" and here is what I found:

*Red Miller went to Western Illinois and ended up being an assistant there for Lou Saban in the late 50's. When Saban became head coach of the Patriots in 1960, Miller went with him. (I did not know that Miller's lineage could be traced back to the original AFL days). When Saban went to the Buffalo Bills, Miller went with him there, too. For the next several years Miller served different teams as an offensive line coach. He was hired by Chuck Fairbanks with the Patriots in 1973 and served as the de facto offensive coordinator. New England had a big year in 1976 and Miller became a hot item.

*Meanwhile, in Denver, John Ralston has been serving as both HC and GM from 1972 - 1976 leading them to their only winning seasons in franchise history. Ralston's lack of coaching acumen has become apparent, yet for reasons unknown the Broncos allow Ralston to stay on in 1977 as HC, but he is stripped of his GM duties and replaced by Fred "Ram Helmet" Gehrke. (I did not understand this, as Ralston was always a good judge of talent going back to his Utah State days...it would make more sense if Ralston was made GM and someone else became the HC). Gehrke's first move is to offer the Broncos OC position to Red Miller, but Miller declines because he thinks he is in line for the better LA Rams job as Chuck Knox was supposedly leaving for the Lions job (I did not know this scenario was in play after 1976).

*Bronco players revolt before the start of the 1977 season, Knox stays at LA, and Gehrke fires Ralston and now offers the Broncos HC position to Miller, which he accepts. (I always thought that Miller was already on the Broncos staff, and was simply promoted to HC.) Miller wins Coach of the Year honors, makes 77 SB, playoffs in 78 & 79, but the team backslides a bit in 1980 and they go 8-8. An interesting thing about Miller's tenure is that although he is an offensive coach, that side of the ball usually struggled and the Broncos won with their great defense. So kind of like Brian Billick. But regardless, I find it very odd that Miller got fired after his first non-playoff year considering how mediocre the Broncos had been in their history.

*The story is that a new owner purchased the Broncos franchise after the 1980 season. His first move was to fire GM Fred Gehrke, because apparently Gehrke was a bad contract negotiator and the Broncos had the highest payroll in the NFL. (Player salary data from that era is hard to find, but I remember seeing that Claudie Minor was like the 6th highest paid player in the NFL, so there is probably merit to Gehrke's poor negotiation skill)). The owner next met with Red Miller, and Miller said something like "I shouldn't have to ask you if my job is safe", and the owner fired him on the spot.

*After being fired, a few teams including the Packers were interested in hiring Miller as their OC, but nothing ever happened. Maybe Miller was holding out for a HC job? But even so, judging from his record, you'd think SOMEONE in 1981 would have given Miller a HC job. But that didn't happen. And it didn't happen in 1982, either. So Miller's last stop was as HC with the USFL's Denver Gold in 1983. Partway through the year, Miller got into an argument with the owner because the owner wouldn't spend any money, and once again Miller got himself fired on the spot. And that was his last coaching gig.

After the Rama lost the 1976 NFC Championship game to the Vikings, Chuck Knox wanted to leave the Rams for Detroit. Ram owner Carroll Rosenbloom refused to let Knox out of his contract. Rosenbloom wanted coaches to leave when HE wanted them to. After another playoff loss to the Vikings in 1977, Rosenbloom fired Knox.

The Ram fans were very upset with Knox after the 1976 loss, wanted him to go. Early on Knox ordered a FG attempt Fourth and inches from the goal line. The kick was blocked and run back for a TD. The Rams never got out out of the hole this put them in.

I remember a number of Bronco players wanted Ralston gone after the 1976 season. They felt a different coach would have them in the Super Bowl. The Broncos did make the Super Bowl in 1977 under Red Miller.

[74_75_78_79_]

Yes, Bryan, it was kinda weird that Denver was never a playoff team until Red arrived, 12-2 Super Bowl berth his first year, two more playoff berths, and then out in '80 after going 8-8 (not exactly a felony). Bad draft picks/personnel decisions or not, Miller should have been allowed to stay on in '81; or at least him get another NFL HC-ing shot elsewhere. Reeves was of course the better HC than Miller, but I'd like to think that the 10-6 near-miss in '81 was more a product of what Red already had in place, and less what Reeves did (although not by much; Dan still played a significant role in that winning season). '83, though, was when it was truly Dan Reeves' team.

'77 was a special season. Not sure that Red would have been able to ever duplicate it. Catching the league by-surprise certainly helped. Still a playoff team the next two years, still the 'Orange Crush', but just a mere playoff team. That's it. Broncos & Steelers '77-thru-'79 remind me a little of Vikings/Forty Niners '87-thru-'89. Denver eliminates Pittsburgh in '77, Minny does the same to SF ten seasons later. But then despite Denver having that 'Orange Crush', and Vikings having Sgt Rock as their DC, Steelers & Forty Niners respectively decimate them in the playoffs by respective scores of 33-10 and 34-9! Then in '89, its San Fran blasting Vikings again out the playoffs, 41-13, as Steelers blast that 'Orange Crush' again in '79, but in this case not in the playoffs but simply on MNF, Week #8, by a score of 42-7.

[Gary Najman]

I heard that the GM and Red Miller were fired because Edgar Kaiser wanted people around his age at those positions. That's why Grady Alderman and Dan Reeves were brought in.

Miller brought in Craig Morton, and he had the fire that John Ralston didn't have. However, the Broncos made bad personnel decisions during his time there. The Robinson trade was terrible, and they didn't draft that well, either.

Ralston must have let Carroll Hardy (a scout or exec for the Broncs, not sure which. Joel Buchsbaum was high on him) help him, because the Broncos drafted well when he was there. Miller must have ignored Carroll, because the Broncos drafted much worse when he was HC.

Two of his first round picks, Steve Schindler (Red probably saw him a lot because Steve played at BC when he was coaching with the Pats) and Kelvin Clark, were flat out busts, and Don Latimer (his 78 first-rounder) didn't set the world on fire. Also, he wasn't great in Round 2, either. Rob Lytle over Wendell Tyler was a mistake, and the guy they drafted in 78, William Gay, was cut (he was originally a TE when he came out of USC, but he went to Detroit, switched to defensive line, and became a good player).

I think that the Broncos also had good draft picks under Miller (Rulon Jones, Mike Harden, Keith Bishop, Luke Prestridge, plus free agent Steve Watson).

[Retro Rider]

The 1976 Broncos posted a solid 9-5 record but they struggled against the AFC's best, going 0-4 against the Bengals, Raiders and Patriots respectively. I give Red Miller a ton of credit bringing his new team together, believing they could unseat the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West:

https://milehighsports.com/red-and-raiders/

I remember watching the Broncos final regular season game at Seattle in December 1980. The Broncos won 25-17, handing the Seahawks their 8th consecutive home defeat. Red Miller announced their new slogan would be "Get it done in '81." Miller went off to coach in the Senior Bowl but never coached again in the NFL. I was stationed in Colorado at the time and two of 1981's biggest local stories were the sale of the Broncos and Red Miller's dismissal (some rare video here):

https://youtu.be/LdPWghYA3jA

https://youtu.be/sI0MtUbg0JA

There was a report that the Rams were considering Miller for an assistant coaching position (offensive line) around 1987/1988 but that never materialized. Miller did well in his next career as a stock broker.

The biggest criticism I had of Miller was not utilizing Otis Armstrong more often. Red believed in a rotating back system, insuring that his runners were fresh. Armstrong's carries were nearly cut in half in 1977. Otis was coming off his second 1,000 yard rushing campaign in three seasons and his second Pro Bowl appearance.

I agree that John Ralston was an excellent evaluator of talent but by January 1977 he had lost the confidence of his team. This was well chronicled in a 1977 Sport Magazine story. Years later Tom Jackson, one of the infamous "Dirty Dozen," made this admission concerning the ousting of Ralston:

"Looking back on it now, I believe that we made a mistake."

https://youtu.be/EsaUzGdxg9U

[7DnBrnc53]

Thanks for posting those videos, especially the one with the Denver newscast.

I think that the Broncos also had good draft picks under Miller (Rulon Jones, Mike Harden, Keith Bishop, Luke Prestridge, plus free agent Steve Watson).

The first three picks mentioned were in 1980. Maybe Red Miller got more of Carroll Hardy's input that year. The previous three years, the only starters they got in the draft and college FA were Billy Bryan and Prestridge (Latimer was a contributor, but not a full-time player).

Obviously, what ended up hurting both Ralston and Miller was the lack of a long-term QB.

Ralston had Charley Johnson, who did well, but was at the end of his career, and retired before the Orange Crush was in full bloom. Also, Ralston's death knell may have been the failure to get Plunkett in a trade. If he got him, maybe he lasts longer.

Miller brought in Morton, and Craig did a good job, but he was 35, and Red couldn't find his successor. He passed up Joe Montana in 1979 (don't know what they thought of him), and he traded for Matt Robinson the next year because he wanted Marc Wilson, but he didn't think he would fall to the 20th pick.

Also, another failure of Red was establishing a good running game. He made mistakes in the draft up front (taking Steve Schindler in 1977 and Kelvin Clark in 1979 over Kent Hill), and he could have drafted Joe Cribbs in 1980 (and Irv Pankey in Round 2) if it wasn't for the Robinson blunder.

[Jay Z]

As others have mentioned, Miller was an offensive coach. The defense was run by Joe Collier, who was retained from Ralston.

He seems like the football equivalent of the "let 'em play" baseball manager popular in the early 1980s. Jim Frey with the 1980 Royals and 1984 Cubs, Harvey Kuenn with the 1982 Brewers, Joe Altobelli with the 1983 Orioles. Manager inherits a team from a higher pressure manager. Low pressure manager keeps the system in place with less pressure. It works great... for a year. Then declining performance thereafter, as the low pressure manager is less adept at fixing problems or replacing aging players.

As mentioned, Miller's "signature" of a stable of mediocre running backs was not effective. The team got worse every year after 1977. He seems to have lacked player evaluation skills and front office savvy as well.