It was John Ralston's fifth and final season as the Broncos' head coach and general manager.
Oakland won the division at 13–1 and New England was the sole wild card team in the AFC at 11–3.
Ralston was relieved of his duties as general manager in mid-December, succeeded by assistant GM Fred Gehrke.
[5][6] After several weeks in the restructured organization, Ralston resigned as head coach in late January 1977.
Rookies in italics This article relating to an American football season is a stub.