Former Bills Head Coach Dies at 91
Former Buffalo Bills defensive assistant and head coach Joe Collier has died at 91, per reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
“The Denver Broncos announced the passing of former defensive coordinator Joe Collier, who died Monday night at his home in Littleton, Colo., at the age of 91,” Schefter tweeted.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Collier got his start as a pro football coach with the then-Boston Patriots in 1960 as an assistant. He quickly moved on to Buffalo and saw his career take off, becoming the Bills’ linebackers and defensive backs coach in 1962. He served in that role until 1965 when he became Buffalo’s head coach.
Collier finished his head-coaching career with a 13–17–1 record, which included a playoff loss in the 1966 AFL Championship to the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the most memorable time of Collier’s career came after he left Buffalo to join the Denver Broncos in 1969 as a defensive backs coach. He became the catalyst for the Broncos’ “Orange Crush” defense after taking over as defensive coordinator in 1972, a role he would hold until 1988.
During that time, the Broncos won five division titles and made it to the three Super Bowls in a four-season span.
However, Collier and the Broncos lost all three of those Super Bowls with a young John Elway at the helm.