ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio knows his future is a topic of conversation, but Monday he said he believes he “absolutely” deserves a chance to be back in 2022.
Fangio is in the third year of the four-year deal he signed when he was hired in 2019. The Broncos were squarely in the AFC playoff hunt at 6-5 when December began, but have lost three of the past four games, having scored 10 and 13 points in their past two losses.
Fangio was asked Monday, in the wake of Sunday’s 17-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders when the Broncos gained just 158 yards in total offense, if he thought he deserved to be back in ’22 and, if so, would he coach the final year of his deal without an extension?
“Absolutely,” he said. “Just the direct, short answer there, absolutely.”
The Broncos have scored 13 or fewer points in each of their past three losses and despite a defense currently tied for No. 1 in scoring defense, they are 7-8, all but mathematically eliminated from the postseason for a sixth consecutive year. The Broncos’ last playoff game was their Super Bowl 50 win to close out the 2015 season.
“These last three [losses] have been tight, tough losses,” Fangio said. ” … But I do think it indicates the fight, the competitiveness in this team. Have we scored enough points in those losses? No, we haven’t. But we have total faith in our players that we’re going to get this turned around over the next two weeks.”
Fangio is 19-28 in three seasons with the Broncos, but this is the first season he has worked with general manager George Paton, who was hired in January. Paton has complete authority over the team’s football operations.
But Fangio’s tenure, like Vance Joseph’s before him, has been marked by struggles on offense and inconsistencies at quarterback. Ten different quarterbacks have started games for the team since 2016 and the team hasn’t averaged more than 23 points per game since 2014 — the Broncos have averaged 19.9 points this season.
Fangio was asked if he worries about his job security with the final two weeks of the season looming.
“I don’t and I know you think that is a standard answer, but for a lot of reasons, I do not worry about it,” Fangio said. “Those reasons are personal to me, but do I acknowledge that is out there and could happen to me? Absolutely. But do I worry about it? I absolutely do not worry about it for many, many reasons.”
Fangio said when he talks to Paton, the two talk about what moves the team could make to snap the playoff drought as they make moves to cover for current injuries or players on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
“Most of our discussions right now are with the task at hand, juggling the roster with everything going on,” Fangio said. “But yeah, we do talk about the future … we don’t go too far into the future, we mostly focus on the task at hand right now.
“George and I have a great relationship,” Fangio added. ” … One of the best assets the Denver Broncos have is George Paton. I’ve been around a lot of general managers, some of them in the Hall of Fame, and I think this guy is just great at his job and he’s going to continue to be great at his job. Him and I get along tremendously.”