BRONCOS

Sean Payton reveals the plan was Vic Fangio at DC, why it didn’t happen

Feb 28, 2023, 8:51 AM

Hopefully Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wasn’t watching head coach Sean Payton’s NFL Combine press conference on Tuesday.

If so, it was abundantly clear to “VJ” and anyone else watching, he wasn’t the top choice for the DC job. Nope, that would be another former Broncos head coach in the form of Vic Fangio.

Speaking to the media in Indianapolis, Payton was asked about a wide variety of topics, but why Fangio’s in Miami and not Denver was perhaps the most interesting. When discussing all the candidates he interviewed, Payton dropped this little nugget before moving on to another question.

“Vic was supposed to be part of the plan, then you guys scared him away,” Payton said.

That’s a curious answer without a doubt. Was Payton suggesting the media was the reason Fangio didn’t want to come back to the Broncos a year after getting fired? Luckily, there was a follow-up question and some more clarity came to light.

“Do I think he would’ve been a great asset for us? Yes. We were planning in this year away if the right scenario came up that we’d work together. I think this one was just a little unique because it wasn’t too long ago he was here. But certainly I tried, talked to him, tried to twist his arm and I’m excited for his opportunity in Miami,” Payton said.

Again, that’s just Payton flat-out admitting he wanted Fangio as his top choice. It didn’t work out, mostly because it was just too soon. It can’t make Joseph feel good, but that’s the nature of the business. Payton offered plenty of other praise of Fangio as well.

“Look, I consider him a friend. We’ve never worked together, but Vic Fangio is from Scranton, Pennsylvania, which is where my mom and dad were from. My dad went to the same high school as Vic Fangio, Dunmore High, and my cousin taught Vic Fangio sixth-grade math in Scranton. I’ve never lived in Scranton, they filmed ‘The Office’ there I think, which was a good show,” Payton said.

The end of that answer is a rambling tangent, but you get the point. There’s a long history between Payton and Fangio, and they did indeed want to work together. The problem is Payton landed in Denver, and that was just too quick of a turnaround from when Fangio got fired in January of 2022 to make it happen.

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Sean Payton reveals the plan was Vic Fangio at DC, why it didn’t happen