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1971 Denver Broncos season
1971 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Gerald Phipps
General manager	Lou Saban
Head coach	Lou Saban (first 9 games, 2–6–1); Jerry Smith (last 5 games, 2–3)
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1970; Broncos seasons; 1972 →;

The 1971 Denver Broncos season was the team's twelfth season in professional football and second in the National Football League (NFL). Led by fifth-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos finished the season with four wins, nine losses, and one tie, again fourth in the AFC West. Fifth-year running back Floyd Little became the thirteenth in professional football history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season;^[1] the future Hall of Famer ran for 1,133 yards, averaging four yards per carry.

On Wednesday, November 17, Saban stepped down as head coach but remained as general manager; offensive line coach Jerry Smith led the team for the final five games, with two wins.^[2]^[3] Several days after the season finale, Saban was hired as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, who had just one victory in 1971.^[4]^[5] The Bills improved to 9–5 in 1973 and made the playoffs in 1974.

In early January 1972, the Broncos hired John Ralston as head coach and general manager; he was previously the head coach for nine years at Stanford University, upset winners of the last two Rose Bowls.^[6]^[7]

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1971 Denver Broncos draft
1	12	Marv Montgomery	OT	USC	From Green Bay
2	35	Dwight Harrison	WR	Texas A&I
4	79	Lyle Alzado *	DE	Yankton
4	87	Cleo Johnson	DB	Alcorn A&M
6	139	Harold Phillips	DB	Michigan State
7	165	Doug Adams	LB	Ohio State
8	187	Tom Beard	C	Michigan State
9	217	John Handy	LB	Purdue
10	243	Carlis Harris	WR	Idaho State
11	269	Roger Roitsch	DT	Rice
12	295	Floyd Franks	WR	Ole Miss
13	321	Craig Blackford	QB	Evansville
14	350	Tommy Lyons	C	Georgia
15	373	Larry James	RB	Norfork State
16	399	Steve Thompson	DT	Minnesota
17	425	Jack Simcsak	K	Virginia Tech
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1971 Denver Broncos staff**
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Allan Phipps Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Director of Scouting – Carroll Hardy Head coaches General manager/head coach – Lou Saban Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Hunter Enis Offensive Line – Jerry Smith (interim Head Coach)			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Stan Jones Defensive Secondary – Joe Collier Special teams coaches Special Teams/Tight Ends – Whitey Dovell

Roster

**1971 Denver Broncos roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Don Horn 10 Steve Ramsey Running backs (RB) 11 Bobby Anderson 33 Joe Dawkins 44 Floyd Little 22 Fran Lynch 23 Dickie Post Wide receivers (WR) 89 Gordon Bowdell 40 Jack Gehrke 82 Dwight Harrison 80 Jerry Simmons Tight ends (TE) 81 Billy Masters 85 John Mosier 83 Jim Whalen		Offensive linemen (OL) 56 Jay Bachman C 72 Sam Brunelli T 74 Mike Current T 67 George Goeddeke G 59 Larry Kaminski C 61 Tommy Lyons G 78 Marv Montgomery T 64 Mike Schnitker G Defensive linemen (DL) 77 Lyle Alzado DE 73 Walt Barnes DT 79 Carter Campbell DE 63 Dave Costa DT 76 Tom Domres DT 55 Pete Duranko DE 62 Jerry Inman DT 87 Rich Jackson DE 70 Paul Smith DT		Linebackers (LB) 53 Ken Criter 52 Fred Forsberg 58 Bill McKoy 54 Chip Myrtle 50 Olen Underwood Defensive backs (DB) 24 Butch Byrd 28 Cornell Gordon 20 Charlie Greer SS 41 Leroy Mitchell CB 21 Randy Montgomery 26 George Saimes S 36 Bill Thompson CB Special teams 15 Jim Turner K 42 Billy Van Heusen		Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 19	Miami Dolphins	T 10–10	0–0–1	Mile High Stadium	51,228
2	September 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 13–34	0–1–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,957
3	October 3	Kansas City Chiefs	L 3–16	0–2–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
4	October 10	Oakland Raiders	L 16–27	0–3–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
5	October 17	San Diego Chargers	W 20–16	1–3–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
6	October 24	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–0	2–3–1	Cleveland Stadium	75,674
7	October 31	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–17	2–4–1	Veterans Stadium	65,358
8	November 7	Detroit Lions	L 20–24	2–5–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
9	November 14	Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–24	2–6–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
10	November 21	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–28	2–7–1	Municipal Stadium	49,945
11	November 28	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 22–10	3–7–1	Three Rivers Stadium	39,710
12	December 5	Chicago Bears	W 6–3	4–7–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
13	December 12	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–45	4–8–1	San Diego Stadium	44,347
14	December 19	at Oakland Raiders	L 13–21	4–9–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,651
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

The sites of the two games with the Oakland Raiders were switched.^[8]

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	8–2–1	302	208	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	4	2	.667	4–1–1	7–3–1	344	278	W1
San Diego Chargers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	311	341	L1
Denver Broncos	4	9	1	.308	1–5	3–6–1	203	275	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

^ Sports Illustrated, July 26, 2010, The Unexpected Hero by Gary Smith, p.63, Published by Time Inc.
^ "Saban quits Denver job". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. November 17, 1971. p. 42.
^ "Smith takes Bronco reins from Saban". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1971. p. 4D.
^ "NFL clubs, Baylor hire new coaches". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 24, 1971. p. 3B.
^ "Saban promises shakeup in ranks". Daily Sentinel. (Middleport-Pomeroy, Ohio). UPI. December 24, 1971. p. 4.
^ "Five-year pro deal to Ralston". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 23.
^ King, Errol (January 6, 1972). "Ralston's talking Super Bowl". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. C1.
^ "Raiders may have to move games if A's gain Series". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 13, 1971. p. 22.