The Broncos are betting next season on hope rather than experience

On Sunday morning, Broncos fans were greeted with the news that Vic Fangio would return in 2021. Adam Schefter reported that Denver’s head coach was safe heading into the final two games, his job secure for next season.

For those preaching continuity, this was welcome news. Despite the Broncos having clinched a fourth-straight losing season, two with Fangio at the helm, they believe that the team has to stay the course. Constantly changing paths is part of Denver’s problem, in their minds.

But keeping a head coach on board simply because you’re afraid of looking like a franchise that constantly cycles through coaches is a terrible idea. If the wrong person is in charge, keeping them around is only delaying the inevitable. It’s simply wasting more time wandering around in the wilderness.

The Browns are a prime example of this reality. Despite having seven different head coaches in this decade, the franchise didn’t hang on to Freddie Kitchens after he went 6-10 in his first season. They believed they had enough talent to make the playoffs, so they made a change. This year, Cleveland is 10-5 and currently in position to earn a postseason berth.

One season was all it took for the Browns to make their evaluation. They saw enough dysfunction in 16 games to know that it was time to move on.

So why aren’t the Broncos doing the same thing with Fangio after twice as many games? Why hasn’t a 12-19 record through nearly two seasons been enough to show them that they’re on the wrong path?

Those are good questions, but they aren’t the key one in this equation. Instead, it’s all about answering this query: Why do the Broncos think things will be different next season?

Apologists will point toward all that the team had going against them this season. They had no offseason and no preseason because of COVID-19, a big challenge for a young team. They lost Von Miller before the season opener and Courtland Sutton in Week 2, sidelining their best players on both sides of the ball for most of the year. They’ve also had a ton of other injuries and suspensions to cope with, as well, plus some COVID-related issues during the season, including having to play without a quarterback for a game.

All of those are legitimate reasons why the Broncos have struggled this season. They aren’t excuses; they’re facts.

But pointing to just those challenges suggests that everything would be rosy if Fangio hadn’t had to deal with unprecedented times. It hints that all would be good if the head coach was dealing with even remotely normal circumstances.

That’s simply untrue. The Broncos are terrible in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with COVID, injuries or anything else that’s gone against them this season.

It all started in the season opener, when Fangio failed to use his timeouts in the waning seconds of the game. As a result, Denver didn’t have any time to drive for a game-winning field goal after the Titans booted one of their own to take a lead.

Similarly inept late-game decision making was on display in the Broncos win at the Jets. Denver repeatedly put quarterback Brett Rypien in jeopardy by inexplicably trying to throw the ball to run out the clock, despite leading by nine points.

Those were glaring mistakes. But every week features a litany of smaller ones, as well.

Denver is brutally bad on special teams. That’s a sign of an organization that doesn’t pay attention to details. Good franchises are good in that phase of the game. Bad ones, especially ones without a type-A personality at head coach, struggle in the kicking game.

The Broncos also lack discipline. They fall for hard counts and jump offsides. They have too few or too many men on the field. And on more than one occasion this season, they’ve had a player kicked out of a game for throwing a punch, an egregiously selfish play.

Somehow, however, none of this falls on Fangio. He gets a free pass for the poor play, poor decisions and poor character. No one holds him accountable.

There isn’t a single sign that the Broncos are trending in the right direction. They’re 5-10 this season, guaranteeing that they’ll take a step backwards from last year’s 7-9 finish. They’ve trailed by three scores or more in six out of 15 games this season, a sign that they’ve been largely uncompetitive.

But that’s not all. Fangio was brought in because he was a defensive guru. Given that the Broncos best players at the time, as well as a league-high percentage of salary cap, were on that side of the ball, that seemed to make sense.

Time and time again, however, Fangio’s group has failed with the game on the line. They blew late leads last year against the Bears, Jaguars and Colts, letting Mitchell Trubisky, Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett get the best of them. They also blew a 20-0 halftime lead against the Vikings.

This year, it’s been much the same. The Broncos blew a late lead to the Titans. And they choked away the game yesterday.

Denver’s defense kept them in it on Sunday, there’s no doubt. But that’s all for naught if they can’t perform late in the game.

In a 16-16 scenario, the Broncos let the Chargers get into field-goal range in just three plays. Los Angeles kicked what turned out to be a game-winning field goal with 0:41 left on the clock.

That’s when a great defense steps up. That’s when a defensive guru dials up the perfect defense. Repeatedly, Fangio has failed in those situations.

But he never takes the blame. Instead, he repeatedly throws his players under the bus. Yesterday, his postgame comments left virtually no one out.

“We got to make our field goals. We got to catch the ball when it’s thrown to us. We got to throw the ball more accurately at times. We got to play receivers tighter, no matter who’s playing corner and not just play scared. We got to tackle when we have the opportunity to tackle,” Fangio offered after the 19-16 loss.

His next words were telling, however.

“We got to do all the things that winning teams do,” he added.

Exactly. That’s on the head coach. It’s about attention to details. It’s about knowing what to do during an in-game situation. It’s about having a high football IQ.

If a team isn’t good at those things, it’s not about the players. It’s about the coaches.

But Fangio will be back next season. And Broncos Country will be asked to believe that next season is going to be different.

That’s a nice thing to hope for; it’s a pleasant thought. But there’s no evidence to suggest that it will happen.

Through nearly two full seasons, the Broncos haven’t improved in any way, shape or form under Vic Fangio. That makes thinking that they’re heading in the right direction nothing more than a pipe dream.

Could next year be different? Sure. But it would be a foolish bet to make.

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