DENVER (AP) — Joe Collier, the former Buffalo Bills head coach and architect of the Denver Broncos' famed “Orange Crush” defense, has died. He was 91.
The Broncos said Collier's family confirmed that he died at his Littleton, Colorado, home on Monday night.
“Joe Collier is one of the most impactful coaches in the history of the Denver Broncos and regarded among the best defensive coordinators of all time,” the Broncos said in a statement. “He was an innovator in the NFL with his 3-4 defense, helping the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances during a legendary career with our franchise that spanned more than two decades.
"Intelligent, modest and soft-spoken, Collier provided steady leadership to five different head coaches as the Broncos emerged as perennial contenders in the 1970s and 1980s. His profound influence on countless players and coaches in Denver included 12 Broncos Ring of Famers, 11 Pro Bowl selections and 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar."
In a recent interview with The Associated Press regarding Gradishar's induction into Canton this summer, Collier said, “It's long overdue. I couldn't be prouder of him. Randy was a great leader of our defense.”
Collier said he hoped Gradishar's enshrinement would do two things: show today's fans what a coolly efficient tackler Gradishar was and open the door for more members of the Orange Crush defense to get into the Hall of Fame.
Collier spent 20 seasons on the Broncos’ coaching staff from 1969-88, a tenure surpassed only by Mike Shanahan's 21 years. Collier helped Denver to a 168-132-7 record, five division titles and Super Bowl appearances after the 1977, ’86 and ’87 seasons.
Led by Collier’s defense, the Broncos made their first of eight Super Bowl appearances after the 1977 season, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders in the playoffs to win the AFC. The Broncos lost to Dallas in the Super Bowl.
Collier started coaching at Western Illinois University (1957-59) before breaking into pro football as an assistant for the Boston Patriots from 1960-61. He coached the Bills' linebackers and defensive backs from 1962-65 before taking over as head coach from 1966-68. He returned to New England as defensive coordinator from 1991-92.
Collier was 13-16-1 at the helm of the Bills, leading them to the AFL Eastern Division title in 1966 with a 9-4-1 record.
He was a two-time All-America defensive end at Northwestern before being drafted by the New York Giants in 1954.
Collier is survived by three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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FILE - Ralph C. Wilson Jr., left, owner of the Buffalo Bills AFL team, sits next to Joe Collier, whom Wilson named as the football team's coach in Buffalo, N.Y., in January 1965. Collier, the former Bills coach and architect of the Denver Broncos' famed “Orange Crush” defense, has died. He was 91. The Broncos said Collier's family confirmed that he died at his Littleton, Colo., home Monday night, May 6. (AP Photo/Marvin R. Pike, File)
FILE - Retired Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Collier watches drills at the NFL football team's training facility June 5, 2019, in Englewood, Colo. Collier, the former Buffalo Bills coach and architect of the Broncos' famed “Orange Crush” defense, has died at age 91. The Broncos said Collier died at his Littleton, Colo., home Monday night, May 6. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary.
Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. The bodies of a man and a woman were later discovered nearby.
Hours after police began their search, they discovered a damaged boat in the water, which they towed to shore. They are still searching for five adults — three men and two women — who they believe were on the boat.
Police said they determined that a river cruise boat had been in the area at the time of the accident. They stopped a cruise boat with a damaged hull near the town of Komarom, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) further upriver.
Hungarian public television station M1 reported that the cruise boat, Heidelberg, is a 109-meter (357-foot) Swiss craft that can accommodate 110 people. No passengers on that boat sustained injuries, M1 said.
The Danube at Veroce is roughly 1,500 feet (460 meters) wide and is in the center of an area called the Danube Bend where the river makes a sweeping, nearly 90-degree turn to the south. The area is a popular recreational and boating destination and is on a route often used by cruise boats between Budapest and the Austrian capital, Vienna, some 140 miles (230 kilometers) upriver.
The deadly accident comes five years after at least 27 people were killed in Budapest when a river cruise boat collided with a smaller tourist vessel, sinking it in seconds.
The tourist boat Hableany, carrying 35 people who were mostly South Korean tourists, was overtaken from behind by the much larger cruise boat, Viking Sigyn, beneath Budapest's Margit Bridge, in May 2019.
The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was last year found guilty of negligence leading to a fatal mass catastrophe and sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He has appealed the decision.
Police on Sunday said they have initiated criminal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of endangering water transport and causing the death of several people.
A spokesperson for the Directorate General for Disaster Management told Hungarian news agency MTI that a group of nearly 90 people from several regional disaster management agencies were conducting the search for the missing from the land, water and sky.
Twelve boats and three drones are involved in the search, and two rescue divers are also involved, Imre Doka said.
Police investigators examine the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
This photo provided by BRFK Facebook shows a damaged boat at the northern edge of Budapest where it was towed, after being discovered in the water by police following a boat collision on the Danube River Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say people have died and several are missing. (BRFK Facebook via AP)
his photo provided by BRFK Facebook shows a damaged boat at the northern edge of Budapest where it was towed, after being discovered in the water by police following a boat collision on the Danube River Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say people have died and several are missing. (BRFK Facebook via AP)
A car of the diving service of the fire brigade is parked behind the closed gate of a military port where rescuers search for victims of a boat accident in Northern Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night a motor boat with eight persons onboard crashed with a large river cruise ship on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are looked for. (Peter Lakatos/MTI via AP)
A car of the diving service of the fire brigade is parked behind the closed gate of a military port where rescuers search for victims of a boat accident in Northern Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night a motor boat with eight persons onboard crashed with a large river cruise ship on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are looked for. (Peter Lakatos/MTI via AP)
A view of the damage of the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police officers stand on the deck of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police look at a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
The bow of a river cruise ship is examined by police experts after the ship was stopped in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night the ship crashed with a motor boat with eight persons onboard on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are being looked for. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police investigators examine the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
