The Broncos will not be one of the teams looking for a new head coach in 2021. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, Denver will bring back HC Vic Fangio for his third season with the team.
As the Broncos went 7-9 in 2019 and are just 5-9 this season, Fangio’s return was not a sure thing. But we had not heard any real speculation that his job could be in jeopardy, so Schefter’s report does not come as much of a surprise.
Fangio hardly fits the mold of the young, offensive genius that many teams are looking for in head coaches these days. The longtime defensive assistant was 60 when the Broncos hired him in January 2019, but as Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC tweets, he has strong relationships with GM John Elway and CEO Joe Ellis, and Schefter says the organization not only recognizes the importance of stability, it also believes in Fangio and respects his approach (though Broncos fans will rightfully tell you that he needs to improve his in-game decision-making).
The club feels that injuries to key players like Courtland Sutton and Von Miller, along with COVID-19 issues, have conspired to undermine Fangio in 2020. Plus, the quarterback situation has been far from ideal, as the Broncos have had to use six different QBs in the past two seasons, and 2019 second-rounder Drew Lock is still very much a work in progress.
Another losing season in 2021 will likely spell the end of Fangio’s tenure in Denver, but he will get at least one more shot to get the franchise moving in the right direction.
As a Chiefs fan, I am delighted to hear this news.
Why would they get rid of him? The Broncos’ defense is fantastic, despite massive injury trouble and missing starters. Fangio has done exactly what he was expected to, and better considering that fact. His clock management, as with many new coaches, definitely needs work. But watching the defense, you will see that nearly all of the players, stars or not, are contributing to the overall product and mostly playing well, which is a sign of a well coached unit.
We all knew that Fangio is not an offensive coach. Despite that, the Broncos have been within a turnover or score of winning several of their games this season. Their offense actually looks like it could be decent with a good quarterback and good playcalling. If they manage either of those things next year, Fangio’s record will certainly improve. The Shurmur/Shula combination predictably has produced little in the way of results, but the real concern is to ascertain how much blame they deserve versus Drew Lock’s own inadequacies in determining the cause for his poor play. Denver’s line is much improved, the backs are at least serviceable (despite being misused), and the receivers look excellent. The quarterback play has been dreadful for most of the year. Though we can assign responsibility for that to Fangio as part of his head coaching duties, we all also knew that he wasn’t hired to administer that side of the ball.
Given how relatively well the defense has played most of the year despite the team missing huge contributors, I would hardly hold the offensive struggles against Fangio right now. Keep him and fix the offense by either replacing the staff (minus Munchak) or replacing the quarterback (or both). Yes, it’s bad for stability, but it’s better than firing the head coach who is building a good defense and hard working culture.
Good comment. I think the Raiders would make Fangio their DC in a heartbeat if the Broncos cut him loose so why give a division rival that kind of edge?
Raiders fan perspective- I think you’re 100% right that LV would’ve snatched him up to be their DC if Denver let him go. I was really hoping for this.
Denver keeping him was a good decision. To all those saying he’s a mediocre coach, what are you basing that on? He’s working with one of the worst QBs in the league. It’s tough to win games that way.
If Denver finds a decent QB somehow, I think they could easily be 10-6 next year.
So what you are saying Denver is you are ok with an 8-8 no playoff season at best under a head coach who has a lot of learning to do and no QB but hey when healthy we do play defense?
No, he’s saying that given the circumstances, Denver’s ceiling is basically an eight win team. Lock is currently a bottom-five starter in thus league. Unless one’s defense and offensive line both rank in the top ten, that team is doomed from the outset.
You could argue it is Vic’s job to develop Lock, but I would argue Lock isn’t cut out to be a starter to begin with. He’s way too inconsistent and looks no better this season despite an improved receiving corps and better blocking.
Fangio has improved the defense significantly and has quietly developed some former busts and late-round picks. Alexander Johnson, Garrett Bolles, and Tim Patrick are just a few examples. Besides, have you seen Denver quit a single game this season? They have always played hard regardless of the deficit and that’s a sign the players are invested in thr system. Given the injuries, I believe Vic had this team trending in the right direction and should be retained.
I would be interested in seeing how he fares with a real quarterback prospect or veteran in the future. Perhaps Denver needs a better play-caller than Shurmur to unlock their upside
The Broncos are a joke. The rose colored glasses they all wear are ridiculous. Sports radio in Denver is not honest on what is really going on. This team is going to be worst next year, then fire the coach.
They’re one of the youngest teams in the NFL and with no preseason that’s not good. Not to mention all the injuries this team endured only San Francisco knows this feeling.
Vic, leave the broncos and come back to the Bears as DC. Not the biggest fan of the “no turnover, bend not break” defense that Chuck Pagano trots out there every game. At least when Vic was there, the defense was putting the ball on the ground frequently.
The Bears passed on Vic for the HC spot so he wouldn’t return to Chicago even if there was an opening at the DC position.