ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Of all the active NFL head coaches who were hired before him, the Broncos’ Vic Fangio probably most closely resembles – dare we say it – Bill Belichick.
What, you were thinking, Sean McVay?
Both Belichick and Fangio were prominent defensive coordinators before they got their respective head jobs. Each has crusty exteriors who would find it easier throwing around 50-pound boulders than a compliment. Each got off to rough 20-game head coaching starts with their teams – Belichick was 6-14 with the Patriots in 2000-01 while Fangio is a little better at 8-12 in 2019-20.
Each are coming off recent games in which their No. 2 and 3 quarterbacks had to play in relief of their physically unable to perform No. 1.
These defensive masterminds, Belichick and Fangio, will match wits this Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
"I think Vic has had an outstanding career as a defensive coach in the National Football League," Belichick said in a conference call with members of the Denver media Tuesday. "I was certainly happy to see him get the opportunity with the Broncos last year. I think he’s done an outstanding job. He’s really a good football coach.
"The Broncos are very fundamentally sound, and they do things well. You can see that they have a lot of young players and you see those guys getting better every week. From the opportunity we had to watch them last year in the spring of 2019, you can see how much they’ve improved. They’ve obviously acquired a lot of good players—very talented players—and those guys are getting a lot of playing time.
'They just keep getting better, but they present a lot of problems with the schemes. The way he calls the game is very, very good and he’s a good defensive coach and has put together a good football team in all three phases. I think they’re a team that gets better each week. They’ve had to deal with some injuries—like we all have—but they’re a highly competitive team that’s been impressive to watch."
There are also differences between Belichick and Fangio. Belichick had a previous, five-year head coaching stint with the Browns before he took control of the Patriots. Fangio was a 40-year assistant.
Belichick may have been 6-14 after 20 games but he was going on nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl rings, all after having the guts to choose a 6th-round quarterback (Tom Brady) over a former No. 1 overall draft pick (Drew Bledsoe).
At the moment, no one looks out at the Broncos’ horizon and sees such a liftoff from Fangio’s 8-12 platform. But did the people of New England see it when the Patriots were 1-3 early in Belichick’s second season?
There is also a softer, more personal side to Fangio from close up on a daily basis than there appears to be of Belichick from afar.
But both coaches are presently confronting challenges at their quarterback position. Belichick’s Patriots may be without Cam Newton for a second consecutive game after it was revealed Saturday he had tested positive for coronavirus. If Newton can’t play this Sunday against the Broncos, then Belichick must choose between Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, neither of whom played well Monday night in a 26-10 loss at Kansas City.
"We’ll have to take a look at the entire situation here and see how it goes," Belichick said.
Fangio’s Broncos may be without Drew Lock, who missed the past two games with a rotator cuff strain in his right throwing shoulder and just started tossing a football this week. Lock was not ready to practice with the team Tuesday and if he doesn’t play Sunday, then Brett Rypien will.
Rypien is an undrafted second-year player who in his first NFL start last week against the still winless New York Jets led the Broncos to 37 points and a win without getting sacked, although he also threw three interceptions that kept the game close.
"They have good depth at that position," said Belichick, ever the gamesman after all these years. "All of those guys have played well and it’s a very talented group. Rypien got in there and did a great job against the Jets. Lock is obviously a very talented player as well. We saw (Jeff) Driskel with the Lions last year and he’s a very athletic kid and has a good arm.
"Again, they’ve got very good skill players, so they have a lot of guys they can get the ball to that are very dangerous. They have (Blake) Bortles as well, so we have to be prepared for all of those guys.
"However it turns out to be is out of our control. We just have to be ready and prepared for whoever plays quarterback—or any other position—and be ready to compete against them. They wouldn’t be there or have the opportunity to play if they weren’t good or talented players. We have to know the differences and how that affects what we do based on who’s in there. They have multiple good players at multiple positions and they have different skill sets. We’ll have to be ready for that and adapt to it."
Broncos podcast: Klis' Mike Drop
Denver Broncos headlines, game previews and interviews with our 9NEWS insider Mike Klis.
HOW TO LISTEN
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Sports
