8. Frank Tripucka (1960-1963)
Regular season record: 13-26-1
Playoff Record: NA
No. 8 All-Time Broncos passing yardage: 7,676
In 1960, the Denver Broncos were a brand new franchise in the AFL and they began with Frank Filchock as their head coach. A former CFL coach, Filchock was in charge of the Saskatchewan Roughriders — where he worked with Frank Tripucka.
Eventually, Tripucka stopped playing and was a coach with Filchock. He returned to play when all their quarterbacks were injured but due to CFL rules, they had to forfeit the games since they had too many "imports," or non-Canadian players.
Following their time in Saskatchewan, the two reunited in 1960 as Tripucka came out of retirement to lead the new franchise. He was a veteran leader at 33, but it wasn't enough for Denver to post a winning season. Tripucka ended with 3,038 yards which was the first 3,000-yard season for the AFL.
While he did lead the league in yardage that year, he also led the way with 34 picks and the Broncos were 4-9-1. In all, they finished 13-26-1 and Tripucka had an ugly 51-to-85 touchdown-to-interception ratio. But he did lead them to a 6-7 mark in 1962 and made the Pro Bowl, showing that he was one of the best players on a franchise still trying to find its footing.