Vic Fangio used to coach for the Chicago Bears. But you can call him the Cowardly Lion.
He earned the nickname tonight, on Sunday Night Football, in front of a national television audience.
Fangio’s Broncos played valiantly against the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City, mainly on defense, for the entire game. Shelby Harris was a fire-starter on that unit, defending two passes at the line of scrimmage and tackling Patrick Mahomes for a mere one-yard run as well.
Simply, Harris was the best player on Denver’s defense against the Chiefs. And that defense, led by Fangio and Ed Donatell, should be top-10 in the NFL. They held the Chiefs to four straight field goals, which is basically a best-case scenario for a bad team on the road in Kansas City against the world champs.
But after grinding out a close game and trailing 19-16 late, Vic Fangio decided to punt the ball away instead of go for it on 4th down and 3 near midfield. According to “Surrender Index” Fangio’s decision to not go for it was one of the most cowardly calls a coach can make. At least, in the last decade or so.
DEN decided to punt to KC from the DEN 49 on 4th & 3 with 6:13 remaining in the 4th while losing 16 to 19.
With a Surrender Index of 29.47, this punt ranks at the 99.6th percentile of cowardly punts of the 2020 season, and the 98th percentile of all punts since 2009.
— Surrender Index (@surrender_index) December 7, 2020
With 6:13 to go, the Broncos had to go for it there and push the ball down field. If they gain 20 yards, Brandon McManus can likely tie the game up at 19-19 at the minimum.
Instead, Fangio punted the ball away and gave the game away to the Chiefs. Yes, his defense held again — remarkably — and forced another deep field goal. But Harrison Butker made his fifth straight field goal on the night to extend the lead to 22-16 with only 1:04 to go.
Drew Lock, unsurprisingly, threw an interception and the game was over.
The Broncos were the complete underdog against the Chiefs tonight, in a game that was inconsequential for both teams. Well, that’s not completely true. The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the win tonight. For the Broncos, who are now 4-8, it was more or less meaningless.
Except for this: Fangio had little to lose by going for it on 4th and 3. If the Broncos get the first down, they still have to score to tie or take the lead. And even then it wouldn’t have guaranteed a win.
But not going for it was Fangio signaling to Andy Reid he was rolling over and submitting.
Winning that game for Denver would’ve proven they could beat a better Kansas City team at home, giving the players on the team next year confidence. And it could have proven to be a pivotal moment in the season.
Instead, it was just another loss. Just another woulda, coulda, shoulda.
After the game, Fangio told reporters there was “strong consideration” for going for it on 4th and short. And then he also said, “In retrospect, should have probably gone for it.”
Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Ever since Gary Kubiak left, the Broncos coaches have been a mess. Vance Joseph was arguably the worst coach in the history of the team. Now, Fangio has struggled at times, though his teams are nowhere near as bad and inept as Joseph’s were.
Fangio’s defense the last two years has been very, very good. Even with a ton of injuries to key players in each of the last two seasons. The offense and special teams have been down-right awful.
But one can’t forget about Fangio’s head coaching blunders, either.
His decision-making late in halves and at the end of games has been questionable, especially surrounding calling timeouts. On Sunday night, he hesitated to call one before the 2-minute warning, but then did, to save some clock. And he’s not been very good in terms of calling for challenges either. Against the Saints he called a challenge on a clear catch in bounds, with his team down three scores.
Still the team is incrementally growing under Fangio, and he won’t be fired this year. Nor should he be.
But, Fangio has a lot to do this offseason personally and in terms of his staff. He has to get rid of Tom McMahon, the head of the Broncos special teams. And he needs to consider if Pat Shurmur is the best play-caller for his offense or not, too.
But personally, Fangio has to find the guts to go for it against a better team on the road, at mid field, with only 6 minutes to go. If he can’t do that, if he can’t gamble like Bill Belichick or Reid or Mike Tomlin, he’ll be out of the head coaching spot in late 2021.
