5 requirements if Vic Fangio is back with the Broncos in 2022

Denver Broncos requirements if Vic Fangio is retained for 2022

1. You have to make a change at offensive coordinator

If George Paton decides to keep Vic Fangio aboard in 2022, it has to come with the caveat that Fangio will hire a new offensive coordinator.

When the Broncos hired Fangio back in 2019, it seemed like the plan was to do their best to also correct the mistake of not hiring Kyle Shanahan a couple of seasons prior. The proof of that was in the team’s decision to hire the inexperienced Rich Scangarello, the 49ers quarterbacks coach under Shanahan whose only prior experience calling plays was at a small college.

Scangarello didn’t exactly look like a wunderkind out there as an offensive coordinator but the Broncos drafted players for the Shanahan style of scheme, and Fangio made the decision to fire Scangarello after one season and hire Pat Shurmur instead.

John Elway was likely the one who wanted to bring in Scangarello in the first place, and although we don’t know this for a fact, you could tell that Fangio preferred a veteran coaching staff altogether, which is why he fired Scangarello for the must more well-traveled Pat Shurmur.

Over the last two seasons, Shurmur’s offense has been among the worst at opening drives and opening scripts in general, third-down conversion rate, red zone touchdown rate, and in 2020 they were the league’s worst team in terms of turning the ball over at an average of two turnovers per game.

Whether it’s player development, using players to suit their skills, play-calling, flow to the offense — anything you could possibly pinpoint, Shurmur simply hasn’t done the trick in Denver.

If Fangio is back in 2022, Shurmur has to be out and someone different has to be in that seat coaching up the offensive side of the ball and calling plays.