As rivals Broncos, Raiders clash Sunday, say a thanks to Red Miller

The significance that Wednesday happened to fall smack dab in the middle Raiders Week for the Denver Broncos wasn’t lost on Sandy Clough.

Nearly 40 years ago to the day, the Broncos went into Oakland and upended the defending Super Bowl champion Raiders for just the third time in the previous 29 games.

It’s the game most likely know for linebacker Tom Jackson shouting at then-Raiders head coach John Madden, “It’s all over, fat man.”

“The Broncos had gone some 15 years between wins in Denver,” Clough said on Wednesday. “When Red Miller and first led the Broncos to a glorious Oct. 16, 1977, 30-7 win out in Oakland against the Raiders … Red Miller gave the Broncos team that inspiration.

“You’ve been getting your cans kicks for years by the Raiders. My teams have had success against the Raiders. That’s exactly what Red Miller told the Broncos when he first took the job.”

According to Clough, the Monday before that game in October. 1977, Miller sat down his team, switched on the reel-to-reel, and showed his players clips of Raiders cheap shots over the years.

“He turns off the project after about five or six minutes and simply instructs the players to break out into position groups and go to their meetings,” Clough said. “The Broncos were ready to play and beat the Raiders on Monday before that game.”

Denver would get its first win against Oakland in Denver since 1962 during the AFC Championship that season as the 12-2 orange and blue rolled to its first Super Bowl appearance.

A new era of the Denver Broncos was born, along with a new rivalry, which aims to be rekindled four decades later.

On Wednesday, Miller passed away due to complications from a stroke at Swedish Medical Center in Denver, his wife Nan at his side. He was 89.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to Red’s entire family, especially his wife, Nan,” said Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis. “Red was a beloved member of the Broncos’ family. He left a great impact on this franchise by laying the foundation for our championship tradition and was so proud to be part of our first Super Bowl team 40 years ago.

“You could tell how much the Broncos meant to Red, and he’s meant so much to everyone here. Red was overjoyed to get that phone call in May notifying him of his Ring of Fame selection, and we’re all very saddened that he won’t be able to join us when we honor him in November.”

That 1977 Broncos team served as the first of three years Miller coached the Broncos. It would also be the first of three consecutive postseason berths for Denver, which hadn’t been to the playoffs previously.

Miller’s team would spark an impressive era of success for the Broncos organization, which has since been to eight Super Bowls (with three wins) and had only six sub-.500 seasons in 40 years.

The eighth coach in Denver history, Miller earned NFL Coach of the Year honors from the Associated Press after the 1977 season.

Miller’s teams also featured the infamous “Orange Crush” defense, which allowed an NFL-low 15.0 points per game from 1977-’80 and featured five future Broncos Ring of Famers: defensive end Paul Smith, linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson, cornerback Louis Wright, and safety Billy Thompson.

He’ll join his former players in the Ring of Fame on Nov. 19 during the team’s alumni weekend corresponding with Denver’s Week 11 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It’s an honor far overdue, said Clough.

“Red Miller, with all due respect to Dan Reeves, should have been the first coach inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame, not the second,” Clough said. “More than Mike Shanahan, more than Dan Reeves, Red Miller defined the Broncos, this era of success they’ve enjoyed over the last 40 years, and this rivalry we revel in once again this week between the Broncos and the Raiders.”

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