Denver Broncos: No excuses for Vic Fangio in 2021
Vic Fangio will be back as the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that the Broncos plan to bring Fangio back for at least one more year in 2021. That’s all well and good, but the 2021 season simply can’t be what his first two seasons have been.
In other words, there needs to be marked improvement shown from this team from top to bottom. Fangio may be able to put together a good defensive gameplan, but his team needs to be able to put more points on the scoreboard and he needs to be better with situational coaching and having his entire team ready to play.
The Broncos don’t want to keep turning over the coaching position. That’s understandable. The team has had six head coaches since Mike Shanahan left town and three different coaches since winning Super Bowl 50.
But just because you don’t want to have turnover doesn’t mean you have the right guy there now.
If as a front office you feel that you should give your head coach a pass because the 2020 season included a global pandemic, that’s fine. But that will only be a valid reason to keep a mediocre head coach for one more year. Next year, that won’t fly.
Finally, there is all the injuries. Yes, the Broncos have suffered through a huge amount of injuries this season and to key players as well. But they aren’t the only team that has had to deal with injuries. Sure, it’s difficult to win without key players, but every good team has a good backup plan. Every good team has good depth on the roster.
What if the team gets hit with the same amount of injuries next year? Are we going to say that Fangio needs another year with healthier guys to prove himself?
That’s all a bit much for me.
More from Predominantly Orange
- Denver Broncos need to prioritize having CEO head coach
- Broncos chances of landing Sean Payton dwindling, but not gone
- Denver Broncos dream coaching staff for DeMeco Ryans
- Denver Broncos: “Sleeper” David Shaw checks every box
- The Broncos’ coaching search likely has not gone to plan
So what does Fangio need to do in 2021?
There can be no gray area. The 2021 season needs to be a black and white one for this head coach. The team is going to give him another season, but he can’t go 6-10 or 7-9.
The Broncos have missed the playoffs in each of the last six seasons. That is something that Fangio needs to find a way to chance next season. That should be a bare minimum requirement in order for him to stick around.
In other words, Fangio’s third season at the helm needs to be entirely different than his first two. The team needs to develop an identity on both sides of the ball. The offense needs to be able to score many more points than they have every season since Peyton Manning retired. The team needs to be disciplined by not having so many turnovers and having things such as all four quarterbacks being ruled out of a game for not following simple protocol. Fangio can blame things like that on others if he likes, but he’s the guy that is in charge.
If these things don’t happen and happen convincingly, Fangio’s time in Denver should come to an end following the 2021 season.