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Joe Collier, longtime Denver Broncos defensive coordinator and mastermind behind the team’s famous “Orange Crush” defense, has died, the team announced Tuesday. He was 91 years old.
Collier presided over three defenses that advanced to the Super Bowl during his time in Denver, from 1972 to 1988. Collier coached a group of Broncos defenders who are now in the team’s Ring of Fame. Its best defensive player in Denver, former linebacker Randy Gradishar, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.
“Joe Collier is one of the most influential coaches in Denver Broncos history and is considered one of the best defensive coordinators of all time,” the Broncos wrote in a statement. “Intelligent, modest and soft-spoken, Collier provided consistent leadership under five different head coaches as the Broncos became perennial contenders in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Collier’s 3-4 defense (a formation consisting of three defensive linemen and four linebackers) was one of the secret sauces behind the success of “Orange Crush”, a unit led by Gradishar and fellow defensive end Lyle Alzado , Tom Jackson and Bill Thompson. and Louis Wright. In 1977, Denver’s defense finished third in the NFL in points allowed during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Broncos contained the Steelers’ and Raiders’ more potent offenses in consecutive weeks as Denver reached the Super Bowl for the first time.
In Super Bowl XII, the Broncos’ defense more than held its own against the Cowboys’ stars, led by future Hall of Famers Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and Drew Pearson. Denver held Dallas to less than 3.8 yards per carry, sacked Staubach five times and forced two turnovers. But the Broncos couldn’t overcome their eight turnovers on offense, as Dallas prevailed to win its second Super Bowl of the decade.
Collier’s unit continued to play well throughout the 1980s, with the Broncos defense doing more than its share to help the franchise reach back-to-back Super Bowls in 1986 and 1987. In fact, Collier’s defense was author of one of the NFL’s most famous plays when defensive back Jeremiah Castille stripped the ball from Browns running back Ernest Byner late in Denver’s victory over Cleveland in the title game of AFC 1987.
Collier, who briefly served as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator after his time in Denver, began his professional football coaching career with the Patriots in 1960. After two years with the Patriots, Collier went to Buffalo, where he served as a defensive assistant before being promoted to head coach, a role he held from 1966 to 1968.
Before becoming a coach, Collier was an accomplished player. During his junior season at Northwestern, Collier was named an All-American after setting a Big Ten record for touchdowns. He was selected by the Giants in the 1954 NFL Draft, but instead chose to become a coach after serving three years in the U.S. Army.
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