title on the line, the Broncos' season ended with a 21–17 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Ralston was the UPI's choice as AFC Coach of the Year after Denver achieved its first-ever winning season at 7–5–2. In 1974, Ralston coached the Broncos to a 7–6–1 record for their second consecutive winning season. In 1975 the Broncos finished with a 6–8 record, but the following year the team improved and finished with a 9–5 record. The record was not, however, good enough qualify the Broncos for the playoffs. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times and an overall record of 34–33–3; despite this, he never went to the playoffs during his Bronco (and NFL head coaching) tenure. After leaving the Broncos, Ralston held several assistant coaching jobs which included the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, and as a head coach in the USFL with the Oakland Invaders. Ralston also coached in Europe. He was the head coach of the Dutch Lions, the national football team of the Netherlands. With the Lions, Ralston won the bronze medal in the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 1991. After being inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992, Ralston came out of retirement in 1993 to be head coach at San Jose State University. After the 1996 season, Ralston resigned from the position to become special assistant to athletic director Tom Brennan. Ralston later became special assistant to the football team, where he remained until the 2013 season. He died on September 14, 2019 at the age of 92. Head coaching record College NFL References External links 1927 births 2019 deaths American football linebackers California Golden Bears football coaches California Golden Bears football players Coaches of American football from California College Football Hall of Fame inductees Denver Broncos coaches Denver Broncos executives High school football coaches in California National Football League general managers People from Norway, Michigan Players of American football from Oakland, California San Jose State Spartans football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches United States Football League coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Denver Broncos head coaches