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'Gone to football heaven' Denver's Brister flourished in 1998 after years of purgatory
Posted: Wednesday January 13, 1999 08:32 PM
DENVER (AP) -- It was one of those disastrous seasons that can kill a career, and nearly did. But after enduring a purgatorial year with the New York Jets in 1995, and then being out of football the following year, Bubby Brister has found peace and success in Denver. After playing sparingly for the Broncos in 1997, Brister emerged as a competent backup to John Elway when the latter suffered hamstring, back and rib injuries this season. Brister, 36, started four games this season -- all victories. In another, he engineered a 34-17 comeback victory over Oakland in relief of Elway. "Since I've been here, it's like I've died and gone to football heaven," Brister said Wednesday as he and the Broncos prepared for Sunday's AFC championship game against his former team. Brister, who played seven years in Pittsburgh and two in Philadelphia, signed a free-agent contract with the Jets prior to the 1995 season -- a season he finds unforgettable, but for all the wrong reasons. "As bad as it gets," he said in describing the 3-13 campaign. He started four games in the middle of the season with modest results, sharing quarterback duties with Boomer Esiason and Glenn Foley. "It was pretty frustrating at the time, thinking free agency was coming into play and [coach Rich] Kotite was moving to New York and I knew the system and we had the money to get players, and then we didn't," Brister said. "It's frustrating when you're back there holding the ball and you know you really don't have the players to compete. "I felt sorry for Esiason that year, he got killed. And Foley got killed. I was just happy I could run a little bit or I probably would have gotten killed, too. "There wasn't a lot of discipline on the team. Things got out of hand there for a while." The Jets went 1-3 in the four games Brister started, and in his last start, chaos erupted. With the Jets trailing 3-0, Brister was benched in favor of Foley, who then injured a shoulder. Kotite told Brister to re-enter the game, but he declined. Brister said Esiason also declined. "I told Kotite, 'You benched me, I'm in the back of the line,'" Brister said. "If he's stupid enough to bench me when it's 3-0, I'm stupid enough to say I'm not going in." The incident, and the season, could have been a career-killer, and, indeed, Brister found no demand for his services in 1996. Brister spent the year at home, even as the Jets limped to a 1-15 record and surely could have used him. Enter Bill Parcells in 1997, and the Jets' revival began. "I've got some friends on that team like Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones," Brister said, "and I'm happy to see that they've rebuilt their program." Brister rebuilt his own career, thanks to a recommendation to Broncos coach Mike Shanahan from linebacker Bill Romanowski, who had played with the quarterback in Philadelphia. "I thought my career might be over," he said. "When you're out of the game like I was, I think you appreciate it more. I felt like I could still run and throw and could help somebody win. I wanted to play again. "I didn't want to play anywhere but here, really. I talked to a couple of teams. I talked to the Bears, and thank God that didn't work out. But I knew Romanowski and I knew John, and when I came here to work out, Kube [offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak] seemed like a really great guy. "I had a feeling they had a chance to win a Super Bowl. I was really hoping I'd get to land here, and it worked out."
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