Vic Fangio has a pair of ‘em.
Big ones.
There’s no doubt, he has two big ol’ goose eggs.
And two losses, too. Under Fangio, the Broncos are 0-2.
He might even have kidney stones still. Anyone know whatever happened to those?
After a gutsy call to go for the win in Week 2 of his NFL head coaching debut – with a tie and a trip to overtime at home practically in hand – Vic Fangio was on the verge of being the most-popular man in Colorado. With just 31 seconds remaining on the clock, his decision to go for the two-point conversion and the win was, in fact, successful. Joe Flacco’s two-yard strike to Emmanuel Sanders put Denver up 14-13 over Fangio’s former team and the party in Denver was about to get wild.
But then the Broncos lost.
The vaunted Orange Crush, circa 2019, gave up a 40-yard drive and a 53-yard field goal. Bears 16. Broncos 14. No time on the clock. Plenty of time to reflect.
While Broncos Country spends the next seven days losing its collective mind discussing this loss – giving up a game winning drive (like that!), Garett Bolles’ horrific performance, some terrible calls that proved costly – I propose we all take a deep breath and appreciate Fangio. In fact, I propose giving the ol’ ball coach an official nickname.
“Stones.”
To be clear, I can’t take credit for this suggestion. The first time I heard it was when beat writer Ryan Koenigsberg dubbed Fangio with this after the coach somehow managed to take the sidelines in the Hall of Fame game while passing a “moody” kidney stone. Fangio is tough. He speaks gruffly and unapologetically. He wears a fleece sweatshirt in 100-degree heat. The name fits.
How then, is this guy sitting at 0-2?
You can fault the Broncos for plenty of things, but the toughness of their head coach isn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean Fangio has been perfect; he most certainly hasn’t been. The 60-year old knows football, but it will take some time to know just exactly how to be a head coach. There are little things that show Fangio isn’t quite comfortable in the role just yet.
But the most-important thing a head coach can be is a leader. A head coach needs stones. And some of the decisions that were made on Sunday took a pair of those, there’s no doubt.
“We’re trying to win games, and if we have an opportunity to win a game with a two-point play at the end there, I’m always going to consider it,” Fangio explained following the game. “The circumstances always come into play, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to do it the next time. I was convinced it was the right decision this time.”
And it was. He also went for it on fourth down with 8:47 left on the clock and his team sitting on the Chicago 45. He got that one, too.
Fangio may not be known as a “players’ coach” – he doesn’t strike me as the “buddy” type – but at the highest level of football, players appreciate guts if nothing else.
Bears defensive end Khalil Mack, who nearly enjoyed a NFL Defensive MVP season with Fangio as his defensive coordinator last year, said following the game: “Kudos to that team. They are doing a lot of great things. Coach Vic is a hell of a coach.”
He might be, but his record doesn’t show it. And with a trip to Lambeau Field in store, the picture doesn’t get any brighter. After all, the Packers beat the Bears (who beat the Broncos) in Week 1. It’s quite conceivable that Fangio and his Broncos begin 0-3.
The Broncos lack a lot. They’ve got issues in too many places, and a coach who’s trying to address them on the fly. And the only way to overcome an 0-2, or even an 0-3 start, is to have some moxie. Some toughness. Some grit.
Some stones.
And Vic Fangio has those.