Former Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves dies at age 77

Broncos Country started the year 2022 with some sad news on Saturday morning.

The team’s former head coach Dan Reeves, a key figure in the organization in the 1980s, has passed away. He was 77 years old.

Reeves coached the Broncos from 1981-1992 and was the coach for the majority of John Elway’s tenure with the team. He finished with a record of 110-73-1 but took the team to heights it had not ever been.

Reeves took over for Red Miller, a highly successful coach for the team as well. But after an 8-8 season in 1980, Miller was fired by then-owner Edgar Kaiser and replaced with Reeves.

Reeves went 10-6 in his first season with the team but it would take until 1983, Elway’s rookie season before he made his first playoff appearance. Reeves would take the Broncos to the AFC Championship Game four different times and to the Super Bowl three times.

All three of those Super Bowl ended with embarrassing defeats as Reeves could never get the Broncos over the hump.

His time with the team began to get rocky in the 1990s as his relationship with Elway always seemed strange. Later, Reeves would fire the team’s offensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan, indicating that he was a driving force in that strained relationship.

Reeves advocated for the team to draft Tommy Maddox in the first round of the 1992 draft and that seemed to be the last straw as far as Elway was concerned. Reeves was fired following that season.

It wouldn’t take long for him to land on his feet as he was soon hired as the head coach of the New York Giants. He would later coach the Atlanta Falcons and take them to the Super Bowl, which just happened to be against the Broncos.

Fittingly, that would be the final game of Elway’s storybook career.

Dan Reeves is among the winningest coaches in NFL history

Reeves ranks second behind only Shanahan for most wins by a head coach in team history. He is also tied with Shanahan with most postseason victories in Denver at 13.

Reeves’ 190 total career wins rank ninth in NFL history. Five of the other eight names ahead of him are already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other three are Marty Schottenheimer, Andy Reid and Bill Belichick, two of which will be in Canton and one who certainly could.

Reeves also spent eight years as a player for the Dallas Cowboys before his incredible coaching career.

Predominantly Orange would like to extend its condolences to the family and friend of Dan Reeves. May he rest in peace.