BRONCOS

Vic Fangio is making the same mistake Josh McDaniels did in Denver

Oct 11, 2019, 6:31 AM

The Broncos first-time head coach picked a fight with his star player and is alienating him.

Did you think I was talking about Vic Fangio?

I was actually talking about Josh McDaniels, but I can see how you would get the two confused. Both were hired by the Broncos to return the team to championship glory, with a roster that the organization felt was ready to win. McDaniels failed and Fangio is well on his way to the same fate.

We all remember the debacle that was Josh McDaniels. In 2008, the Broncos had the second-ranked offense in the NFL. As an offensive mind, McDaniels was in a really good spot for a first-time head coach. He had a young franchise quarterback in Jay Cutler and a very talented offense around him.

Somehow, McDaniels and his ego managed to enrage Cutler to the point where Cutler demanded and was granted a trade before ever playing a game under the new head coach. It was an unheard of move. Teams search decades for a franchise QB and McDaniels had one and shipped him out of town before the draft.

The problem didn’t stop with Cutler. McDaniels would go on to publicly feud with superstar in the making in wide receiver Brandon Marshall, he ruined a relationship with stud defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, and inexplicably cut locker room leader and the very productive Andra Davis.

Another thing McDaniels did that has been forgotten is he was unable to negotiate a long-term extension with Champ Bailey and negotiations ended in the 2010 season. John Elway quickly remedied this issue when he first came aboard. Champ may have left had McDaniels stuck around.

The public feud between McDaniels and Cutler was not a personality clash; it was the beginning of a trend. McDaniels had absolutely no idea how to deal with people and the organization crumbled in the wake of his ineptness.

McDaniels was so destructive that his first season began with a magical 6-0 run and he was fired before the conclusion of his second season. He was that toxic.

In January 2019, the Broncos hired Fangio. Khalil Mack called Fangio an “evil genius.” (Eye roll at how stupid and corny that is). The media and fans were all excited about what Von Miller would like in a Fangio defense.

One thing we did not anticipate was a very puzzling habit Fangio has made of calling out Miller and his play. It started with his introductory press conference and has continued throughout the season. Even after a win in which Miller played well, Fangio was critical of his star player.

For some reason, Fangio has been praised for this nonsense. A lot of people seem to think that by criticizing Miller, Fangio is placing nobody above the team. Everybody is equal. Fangio is going to hold everybody accountable.

LOL. Stop with that.

The Broncos are coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since before my 44-year-old brother was born. Taking over this team was going to be a tough task for anybody. There have been terrible drafts, poor judgement with free agents, bad coaching hires, and a complete mess at quarterback. That’s a lot to fix.

You know what wasn’t a problem that needed fixing? Von Miller.

If Fangio felt that Von Miller was the top priority of things to fix, he should have never been hired. That shows a complete lack of ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a football team.

Fangio should’ve come in and said, “Von, you’re the face of the franchise, at the top of your game, a Hall of Famer, keep doing your thing and play hard. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go fix all this other trash.” Instead, he’s acted as if everything around Miller is perfect and Miller is the one thing holding the team back. If I was Miller, I’d be furious.

At this point in his career, I don’t think Miller really needs any tips on how to rush the quarterback. There’s some pretty solid evidence he knows what he’s doing out there. However, the new coach in town is out to prove that it’s him, not Miller, that is the genius in the room.

This whole Fangio/Miller saga is so problematic and all the evidence is in front of our eyes. Don’t ignore it.

Miller is off to his least effective start in his career (aside from the 2013 suspension). Aside from being admonished by his coach, he’s been misused and dropped into coverage. No. 58 is doing what the scheme calls for and at times the scheme calls for Miller to not do what he does best. Get in the backfield. Baffling.

Imagine scheming your own best player right out of the game. That’d be like running the wildcat 30 times when Peyton Manning is your quarterback. The opposing team would be thrilled. When Fangio first talked about dropping Miller into coverage, somebody should’ve asked, “You’re kidding, right?”

Let’s dive into Miller’s behavior. The uncharacteristic 13-second press conference before the Jaguars game was telling. There’s also belief that Miller is taking plays off. Neither of these issues happened under John Fox, Gary Kubiak or even Vance Joseph. Miller also didn’t experience a dip in production under these coaches.

It is what it looks like, and it’s not a coincidence. The head coach’s continued disapproval is effecting Miller and his performance.

The focus of the Broncos defense should always be how to free up Miller to be a game wrecker. The focal point should never be telling him he needs to get with the program.

Maybe if Fangio focused on the real issues with the 2019 Broncos defense, it wouldn’t have taken until Week 5 for him to realize A.J. Johnson is the best middle linebacker on the team and Shelby Harris was being played out of position.

We are seeing the same arrogance with Fangio that we did with McDaniels. The belief that their system and scheme is above the talent in the locker room. This is a very troublesome approach because it allows coaches to completely disregard talent altogether.

What happens when you disregard talent is that you drive a promising young quarterback like Jay Cutler out of town. Then once that guy is gone, another will be shoved out the door.

The praise Fangio has received for calling out Miller should scare Broncos Country and players in the locker room. If Fangio is stubborn enough to invite a feud with a Super Bowl MVP and one of the most beloved players in team history, he’ll have no problem getting into it with lesser talent.

Cutler’s unlikable and aloof personality has changed the narrative of his exit from Denver. Make no mistake, Broncos Country loved Cutler and letting him leave was a monumental mistake that led to one of the most embarrassing two year stretches in Broncos history.

Miller isn’t Cutler. There would be no changed narrative. He’s adored in Denver. He’s got the hardware. Forcing him out would be unforgivable, but that’s what we’re trending towards.

The good news for Fangio is that Miller is still in orange and blue. If this coaching staff wants to succeed and last in Denver, it’s time they realize they need Miller far more than he needs them.

For now, Fangio is off to a better start than McDaniels. Sure, McDaniels started 6-0, but Fangio still has his franchise player and he needs to make whatever changes he can to keep it that way.

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Vic Fangio is making the same mistake Josh McDaniels did in Denver