Red Miller, coach of Orange Crush Broncos, elected to Ring of Fame

Dan Reeves, slide on over. The Denver Broncos will etch another play-caller upon the Mile High façade.

Red Miller, who led the legendary Orange Crush defense in the 1970s — along with the charge to the franchise’s first of eight Super Bowl appearances in 1977 — will be enshrined alongside Broncos greats next season, as the club announced it’s elected the former head coach to the Ring of Fame.

“Hearing that great news from (president and CEO) Joe (Ellis) and the rest of the committee brought back so many memories from those special seasons with the Broncos,” Miller said in a team release.

“… I’m honored to join the Broncos’ all-time greats in the Ring of Fame, and I look forward to celebrating with the many people who helped make this possible.”

Ellis pointed to the era in which Miller coached as one of “a lot of firsts,” including that first title game appearance.

It’s the 40th anniversary of the 1977 Super Bowl team coached by Miller, which “makes his Ring of Fame selection this year even more special,” Ellis said.

“When you talk to the players and coaches from that period, they’ll tell you how Red pushed those teams, led by the historic Orange Crush defense, to a championship level,” Ellis said in a team release.”

In that season, the Broncos went 12-2 on the way to its first AFC West title. It was the organization’s first playoff berth, which ended with Denver topping the then-defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game.

Denver lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII 27-10, but Miller would finish the season as the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year.

The Miller-led Orange Crush defense allowed an NFL-low 15.0 points per game from 1977 to 1980 and featured Ring of Famers Paul Smith, Randy Gradishar, Tom Jackson, Louis Wright, and Billy Thompson.

Miller’s induction ceremony will take place during halftime of a Broncos home game later this season — the date has yet to be determined — when he’ll join Reeves, who was inducted in 2014, as the only other head coach given the honor.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.