By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos are coming off another disappointing season. They ended the year 5-11, a 2 win drop from 2020. Head Coach Vic Fangio is on the hot seat to start 2021. In fact, Vegas has given Fangio 5 to 1 odds that he will be the first coach to be fired.
The Denver Broncos were hoping Fangio was going to help this team compete to make the playoffs. It has yet to happen in his 2 years. The Broncos are a disappointing 12-20 under Fangio. Denver started both seasons slowly. In 2019, Denver was 0-4 before winning their first game in week 5 against the L.A. Chargers. Luckily Denver went 6-5 the rest of the season to finish 7-9.
The Broncos had higher hopes this year. With their finish in 2020, they thought it could be an 8-8 year or better. The goal was to make the playoffs for the 1st time since 2015 when they won Super Bowl 50. They began 1-3 but finished 5-11. Instead of the postseason, the Broncos were into the offseason after week 17.
The Broncos are looking forward to a better season in 2021. Fangio will be in his 3rd season. It is a make it or break it year. Denver has a new General Manager in George Paton. Fangio is not Paton’s guy. John Elway, the Broncos’ General Manager from 2011 to the end of this past year, was the one who hired Fangio.
Paton is going to give Fangio a chance to prove he can still be the coach of this football team. The Broncos can’t begin at 0-3 or 0-4. They have to be a .500 team or better. If they start slowly, Fangio might be out. The Broncos would then look at their staff to see who could be the interim head coach. If that happens, there are two who could make sense, Pat Shurmur and Mike Munchak.
Shurmur has 4 years of experience with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. He was also the interim Head Coach for the Eagles in 2015 for week 17. His overall record is 19-46. Munchak spent 3 years with the Tennessee Titans from 2011 to 2013. His record is 22-46.
The Broncos hope Fangio is the guy in 2021 and beyond. If it is another season where Denver misses the postseason even if Fangio isn’t fired during the year, he could be gone at the conclusion of 2021. The Broncos would search for another Head Coach yet again. For now, Fangio is still the guy even with the best odds to be fired during the season.
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