MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miss Corbett was the connection between current Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio.
“We both have been doing it a long time,’’ Payton said this week in an interview with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle. “He’s also from the same hometown (Scranton, Pa.) as my parents and my cousin (Miss Corbett) taught him 6th grade math.”
Fangio is now the 65 years young defensive coordinator for the 2-0 Miami Dolphins. Payton, besides his full head coach duties, is also in charge of the Broncos’ offense, both as game planner and play caller, so he will be matching wits against Fangio this Sunday (11 a.m. MDT kickoff) at Hard Rock Stadium.
Given the way the Dolphins’ offense has put up yards (462.5 average) and points (30.0), Payton will have to solve the Fangio defense if the Broncos are to pick up their first win. And that won’t be easy. Fangio, no doubt in part because of the analytical mind that Miss Corbett helped form, is considered one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators, to the point several teams have hired his former assistants to bring the same system to their teams.
“No. 1, he forces you to go the long field,’’ Payton said. “It’s hard to manufacture plays past the cover. They do a real good job of staying on top of routes. And then they’re exceptional in the red zone. They play with very good technique. They’re extremely well coached.
“Vic’s done it a long time. I can remember back when he was with Houston, I was at the Giants. And then years later, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, now Miami.”
The Broncos lost their first game to Las Vegas, 17-16, because their offense didn’t score enough points. And they lost their second game to Washington, 35-33, because their defense gave up too many points.
With the Denver D struggling last week – penalties, both in number and timing, were the big issue – and with the mighty Miami offense featuring Tua and Tyreek up next, did Payton become more involved on the other side of the ball this week?
“No, listen, we’ll meet as a staff,’’ Payton said. “I’ll go down to that end. We’ll talk about personnel. We’ll talk about the team, who it is we have to stop or take away, but those guys – we put together a great staff.
“I think one of the most important things is getting off the field on third down. A number of times, even last week, we’re off the field and there was a penalty. So the penalties have to be reduced that’s for sure. And if we can do that we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
As head coach, Payton makes dozens of decisions each week besides those he makes from the sidelines on game day. Like whether or not to stick with a struggling player. After new placekicker Wil Lutz missed an extra point and long field goal in game 1, there was speculation outside Broncos headquarters that Payton would hold a kicker tryout the following Tuesday.
Instead, Payton shot confidence into his kicker by sticking with him. No competition was brought in. Lutz responded by making all three extra points and two field goal attempts in game 2.
“I’ve seen all of it with Wil,’’ said Payton, who had Lutz as his kicker from 2016-2021 in New Orleans. “And most of it has been exceptionally well. He’s got great leg talent. He’s a confident player. He’s someone I know in critical situations I’ve always felt confident sending him out there and he performed well last weekend.”
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