The Denver Gold owned by real estate mogul Ron Blanding looked to bring in familiar names to help promote the USFL to fans throughout the Rockies. Among the familiar faces running the Gold was Coach Red Miller, who had led the NFL's Denver Broncos to Super Bowl XII.

The move paid off, as the Denver Gold playing at Mile High Stadium led the USFL in attendance averaging 41,736 fans per game. While other teams in the USFL were free spending, the Gold chose to keep player salaries in check, and had a roster of mostly unknown and unproven players.

The Gold had a solid, defense led by Kyle Whittingham and Putt Choate, but struggled on offense as they went through four different quarterbacks. No quarterback struggled more than Jeff Knapple, who led the Gold in passing yards, with 1,191, while having an embarrassing 3-19 touchdown to interception ratio.

Ken Johnson was not much better, passing 1,115 yards with six touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Late in the season Denver's offensive struggles and mounting tension between Coach Red Miller and ownership led to a change, as Miller was relieved of his duties after a 4-7 start.

After Charley Armey lost his lone game as interim coach, Craig Morton, who as quarterback led the Broncos to the Super Bowl took over the remainder of the season and led the Gold to a 3-3 record over the final six games resulting in a final record of 7-11.