1999 Denver Broncos season

The 1999 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League, and the 40th overall. 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.

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

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 in a non-strike season. Only the 1982 49ers had a lower winning percentage as they failed to defend their first Super Bowl championship.[2]

The Broncos and the Falcons combined for an 11-21 record in 1999. This is, as of 2019, the worst combined record for both defending conference and/or Super Bowl champions in the season following a Super Bowl appearance. The 11-21 mark was matched by the Bucs and Raiders four years later, one season removed from Super Bowl XXXVII.

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, hurt his knee and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1999 NFL Draft

1999 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	31	Al Wilson *	Linebacker	Tennessee
2	58	Montae Reagor	Defensive tackle	Texas Tech	from San Francisco [R2 - 1]
2	61	Lennie Friedman *	Guard	Duke
3	67	Chris Watson	Cornerback	Eastern Illinois	from Carolina [R3 - 1]
3	93	Travis McGriff	Wide receiver	Florida
4	127	Olandis Gary	Running back	Georgia
5	158	David Bowens	Defensive end	Western Illinois	from Dallas [R5 - 1]
5	167	Darwin Brown	Defensive back	Texas Tech
6	179	Desmond Clark *	Tight end	Wake Forest	from New Orleans via Washington [R6 - 1]
6	204	Chad Plummer	Wide receiver	Cincinnati
7	218	Billy Miller	Tight end	USC	from New Orleans via Washington [R7 - 1]
7	238	Justin Swift	Tight end	Kansas State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft Notes

1. No. 58: San Francisco → Denver (PD). San Francisco traded its second-round selection (58th) to Denver in exchange for offensive tackle Jamie Brown in 1998.

1. No. 67: Carolina → Denver (PD). Carolina traded its third-round selection (67th), as well as its fourth-round selection in 2000 (112th), to Denver in exchange for quarterback Jeff Lewis.

1. No. 158: Dallas → Denver (PD). Dallas traded its fifth-round selection (158th) to Denver in exchange for tight end Kendell Watkins in 1998.

1. No. 179: multiple trades:
          No. 179: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
          No. 179: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.

1. No. 218: multiple trades:
          No. 218: New Orleans → Washington (D). see No. 5: Washington → New Orleans.
          No. 218: Washington → Denver (D). see No. 165: Denver → Washington.

Personnel

Staff

1999 Denver Broncos staff

	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Pat Bowlen Vice President of Football Operations – Mike Shanahan 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 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 Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs/Secondary – Ed Donatell Defensive Assistant – Rick Smith Defensive Assistant – Terry Tumey Pass Rush Specialist – John Teerlinck Special teams coaches Special Teams – Rick Dennison Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Rich Tuten Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Greg Saporta Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Ricky Porter Strength Assistant – Barney Chavous

Roster

1999 Denver Broncos roster

	Quarterbacks  6 Bubby Brister 14 Brian Griese 12 Chris Miller Running backs 33 John Avery 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 80 Rod Smith Tight ends 89 Dwayne Carswell 86 Byron Chamberlain 88 Desmond Clark		Offensive linemen 79 Chris Banks G 60 K. C. Jones C 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 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		Reserve lists 30 Terrell Davis RB (IR) 64 Lennie Friedman G (IR) 84 Shannon Sharpe TE (IR) 51 John Mobley OLB (IR) -- Dan Finn G (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

[4]

Schedule

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