1999 Denver Broncos season

1999 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	Mike Shanahan
General manager	Neal Dahlen
Owner	Pat Bowlen
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	5th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

Denver visits the Green Bay Packers in preseason at Camp Randall Stadium, August 23, 1999

The 1999 Denver Broncos season was the team's 40th year in professional football and its 30th with the National Football League (NFL). After winning its second consecutive Super Bowl with a win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, the team suffered the retirement of Super Bowl XXXIII MVP quarterback John Elway during the off-season. Elway had spent his entire career with the Denver Broncos, and much of the focus in the weeks leading up to the season centered on the void left by Elway's departure. Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced that third-round 1998 draft pick Brian Griese, son of Miami Dolphins Quarterback Bob Griese, would take the reins of the offense, passing over veteran and credible back-up QB Bubby Brister.

In the preseason, the Broncos played in the first and so far only NFL game held in Australia. On August 7, 1999, before a crowd of 73,811 spectators at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 20–17.^[1]

Although no one expected a serious defense of their title, the Broncos would stumble out of the gate this season, losing the first four regular season games. Many of the games would be decided in the final two minutes of play, but the Broncos found themselves on the losing end at 6–10. It was their first losing season since 1994, the worst season since 1990 and the worst record of the five-team AFC West. This was the worst-ever season for a team defending their Super Bowl title.^[2]

Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Broncos went from the league's 28th (third-easiest) schedule in 1998, to the hardest schedule in 1999.:^[3]

Before 2011, the worst one-year increase in strength of schedule belonged to the 1999 Broncos. Denver had ridden the third-easiest schedule (in a 30-team league) to a Lombardi Trophy in 1998, only to fall apart the next season under the weight of John Elway's retirement, Terrell Davis'[s] Week 4 injury, and – oh, by the way – the toughest schedule in the league.

This was the largest single-season change in Football Outsiders' rankings until the 2011 St. Louis Rams.

Week 4 saw star running back Terrell Davis, who was last year's league MVP after a historic season, hurt his knee and was eventually shelved for the remainder of the season.

Personnel

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #002244; color:white; border: 2px solid FB4F14" text-align: center;" | 1999 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen Vice President of Business Operations – Joe Ellis Vice President of Administration – John Beake General Manager – Neal Dahlen Director of Pro Scouting – Jack Elway Director of College Scouting – Ted Sundquist College Scouting Consultant – Jerry Frei Head coaches Vice President of Football Operations/Head Coach – Mike Shanahan Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Gary Kubiak Running Backs – Bobby Turner Wide Receivers – Mike Heimerdinger Tight Ends – Brian Pariani Assistant Offensive Line – Barney Chavous Offensive Assistant – Pat McPherson			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Greg Robinson Defensive Line – George Dyer Pass Rush Specialist – John Teerlinck Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs – Ed Donatell Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith Defensive Assistant – Terry Tumey Special teams coaches Special Teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Barney Chavous Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Ricky Porter Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta

Roster

colspan="10" style="background: #002244; color:white; border:2px solid FB4F14" text-align:center;" | 1999 Denver Broncos roster
	Quarterbacks  6 Bubby Brister 14 Brian Griese 12 Chris Miller Running backs 33 John Avery 30 Terrell Davis 22 Olandis Gary 29 Howard Griffith FB 31 Derek Loville 37 Anthony Lynn FB 42 Detron Smith FB Wide receivers 81 Andre Cooper 85 Chris Doering 87 Ed McCaffrey 83 Travis McGriff 82 Billy Miller 82 Marcus Nash 80 Rod Smith		Tight ends 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 88 Desmond Clark 84 Shannon Sharpe Offensive linemen 79 Chris Banks G 77 Tony Jones T 78 Matt Lepsis T 66 Tom Nalen C 62 Dan Neil G 69 Mark Schlereth G 70 Trey Teague T 71 Melvin Tuten T		Defensive linemen 73 Cyron Brown DT 95 Paul Grasmanis DT 96 Harald Hasselbach DE 97 Mike Lodish DT 93 Trevor Pryce DT 99 Montae Reagor DE 90 Neil Smith DE 94 Keith Traylor DT 98 Maa Tanuvasa DE 91 Alfred Williams DE Linebackers 52 David Bowens OLB 59 Glenn Cadrez OLB 51 John Mobley OLB 53 Bill Romanowski OLB 58 Steve Russ MLB 50 Artie Ulmer MLB 54 Nate Wayne OLB 56 Al Wilson MLB		Defensive backs 34 Tyrone Braxton SS 26 Eric Brown FS 40 Dale Carter CB 48 George Coghill FS 39 Ray Crockett CB 20 Tory James CB 25 Darrius Johnson SS 23 Jason Moore FS 35 Jason Suttle CB 21 Chris Watson CB Special teams  1 Jason Elam K 16 Tom Rouen P Rookies in italics

^[4]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13, 1999	Miami Dolphins	L 38–21	75,623
2	September 19, 1999	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 26–10	78,683
3	September 26, 1999	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 13–10	65,297
4	October 3, 1999	New York Jets	L 21–13	74,181
5	October 10, 1999	at Oakland Raiders	W 16–13	55,704
6	October 17, 1999	Green Bay Packers	W 31–10	73,352
7	October 24, 1999	at New England Patriots	L 24–23	60,011
8	October 31, 1999	Minnesota Vikings	L 23–20	75,021
9	November 7, 1999	at San Diego Chargers	W 33–17	61,204
10	November 14, 1999	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20–17	66,314
11	November 22, 1999	Oakland Raiders	W 27–21	70,012
12	Bye
13	December 5, 1999	Kansas City Chiefs	L 16–10	73,855
14	December 13, 1999	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 27–24	71,357
15	December 19, 1999	Seattle Seahawks	W 36–30	65,987
16	December 25, 1999	at Detroit Lions	W 17–7	73,158
17	January 2, 2000	San Diego Chargers	L 12–6	69,278

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	338	298	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	390	322	L2
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	269	316	W2
Oakland Raiders	8	8	0	.500	390	329	W1
Denver Broncos	6	10	0	.375	314	318	L1

References

1. Aussies Rule: During a three-day footy-fest in Sydney, the author didn't have much luck convincing two mates that the NFL game measured up to two Australian brands. by Gary Smith
2. Broncos' record worst among Super Bowl champions, Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 3, 2000 by John Branch
3. Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 (ISBN 1478201525), page 216-217
4. "1999 Denver Broncos starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

External links

• 1999 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com