Some teams are obviously cleaning house this offseason from top to bottom, while others will enjoy the stability that comes with success. For the Denver Broncos, however, the future isn’t exactly clear one way or the other with a single game left to play in the team’s 2021 regular season—against the Kansas City Chiefs at Mile High Stadium.
With an AFC West showdown set for Saturday afternoon, we wanted to get an early preview of what the Broncos are thinking heading into the finale. Is this Drew Lock‘s final exhibition to show someone what he can do? Is this also Vic Fangio’s swan song? Is there a chance that the Broncos will aim for continuity over change to see if that can alter their fortunes in the division?
We reached out to our friend Sayre Bedinger, a must-follow Broncos expert and editor for Predominantly Orange, to ask him some questions about the future of the Broncos and expectations for Week 18.
If you had to guess whether or not Vic Fangio will actually return for another year, what would you bet and how confident would you be in that wager?
I would bet that Vic Fangio is not the head coach of the Denver Broncos next year, and as I sit here on Friday, January 7, I am honestly pretty confident in that. I don’t think there’s anything that can happen in this game against the Chiefs to sway general manager George Paton, who should have already had plenty of time to make a decision either way at this point.
There’s no doubt that Fangio and a lot of coaches with young rosters got a raw deal in 2020 given all of the hoops everyone’s had to jump through due to the pandemic, but I also feel like Fangio’s decision to keep special teams coordinator Tom McMahon through some awful special teams play, his decision to fire Rich Scangarello for Pat Shurmur, his game management, and the team’s overall performance in the division are reasons enough to let him go after three seasons.
I think the Broncos like Fangio, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him stick around. He knows the game and I think he could put together a compelling plan for sticking around and having success, starting with getting top-tier QB play in the building. That’s easier said than done, and I think Fangio’s decision to go with Teddy Bridgewater this past season over Drew Lock is a huge reason why he should be let go.