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The Denver Broncos are preparing to enter their second year with Vic Fangio at the helm. Prior to Fangio, the Broncos have had a slew of successful head coaches over the years.
Given that, the soon-to-be 62-year-old head coach is expected to produce fruitful results while he holds Denver's head coaching spot. On the other hand, Fangio likely doesn't entertain himself with how the coaches before him performed with the Broncos.
As Denver begins their 61st season as an NFL franchise, they've been able to secure three Super Bowl victories. Even though the players are the No. 1 priority toward having a successful team, coaches play a vital part as well. With that being said, let's take a look at the top five head coaches of all time for the Broncos.
5. Red Miller
Without a doubt, every team's goal to begin the season is to reach the Super Bowl. Therefore, it's only right if Denver's first head coach to take them to a Super Bowl cracks the list of the team's best head coaches.
Dating back to 1977, Red Miller became the head coach of the Broncos, taking over for John Ralston. Just the year before Ralston was fired, Denver went 9-5, but the Broncos failed to advance to the postseason in Ralston's five years with the franchise.
However, it didn't take long for Miller to leave his mark, leading Denver to their first Super Bowl appearance in his first year with the team. While he was unable to win the Super Bowl, Miller would make the playoffs in three of his four seasons with the Broncos.
4. John Fox
The Broncos experienced a couple of tough years from 2009-2010, while they attempted to find someone that could replace Mike Shanahan. After hiring Josh McDaniels in 2009, Denver went 11-17 in his first 28 games as head coach.
As a result, he would be fired before he could even finish his second year with the organization. Then, Denver was able to land John Fox in 2011, giving them a beacon of hope for the future.
Following an 8-8 season in his debut year, Fox would get a chance to have Peyton Manning become his quarterback. Fox would compile an impressive 46-18 record and is Denver's all-time leader in win percentage. Despite not winning a Super Bowl, it's hard to argue that Fox didn't have success amid his time in Denver.
3. Gary Kubiak
Even with all of the success that he had with the Broncos, Fox would last only four seasons as the head coach. With Manning under center, John Elway — Denver's GM — was growing impatient for a Super Bowl trophy.
Therefore, after Fox fell short of reaching the Super Bowl in 2014, the Broncos parted ways with him. Upon Fox's exit from the Mile High City, Denver decided to replace him with Gary Kubiak.
In Kubiak's inaugural campaign, the Broncos would finally achieve their ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl with Manning. Even though Kubiak would spend only two years in Denver, he's one of two coaches that has won a Super Bowl with the Broncos.
2. Dan Reeves
Going back to the Miller era in Denver, his tenure with the franchise would come to an end following the 1980 season. Fortunately for the Broncos, they were able to fill the void left by Miller with Dan Reeves.
Reeves is the second-longest tenured head coach in Denver's storied history. Throughout his 12 seasons with the Broncos, Reeves would accumulate a 110-73-1 record.
In addition to his formidable regular-season record, Reeves would take part in 13 playoff games (tied for the most in franchise history). Sadly, even with Elway as his quarterback, Reeves was never able to win a Lombardi Trophy, causing his legacy to take a slight hit.
1. Mike Shanahan
Everyone knows that Kyle Shanahan is one of the most innovative head coaches in the NFL right now with the San Francisco 49ers. Just this past year, with Kyle leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl, he and his father, Mike Shanahan, became the first father-son combo to coach in the Super Bowl.
When Reeves was fired by the Broncos in 1993, the front office replaced with him with Wade Phillip for a couple of seasons. But the team wouldn't see an abundance of success again until Shanahan arrived in 1995.
Unlike Reeves, Shanahan was able to win a Super Bowl with Elway, actually winning two of them during his time with the Broncos. Besides winning two Super Bowls, Shanahan is also Denver's all-time wins leader with 138 of them in 14 seasons.
