Playoffs or bust for Fangio?
The new braintrust of the Broncos makes for an odd couple. The pairing of general manager George Paton and coach Vic Fangio feels like a football marriage of convenience, arranged by John Elway on his way out the door of team headquarters.
Can Paton and Fangio finally bring a semblance of stability to an organization that has been colored by orange-and-blue dysfunction for nearly five years? Or is 2021 another mismanagement disaster waiting to happen?
Hired to put a fresh set of
eyes on a team whose ideas have gone stale, Paton has tough personnel decisions to make on linebacker Von Miller and quarterback Drew Lock. But should the Broncos get off to a stumbling start, among the new general manager’s more unpleasant tasks might be relieving Fangio of his duties.
With a 12-20 record after two years on the job, Fangio will enter next season on the hot seat. While a rash of injuries to key players and football headaches caused by the pandemic spared Fangio from dismissal in 2020, it’s hard to conceive how he survives 2021 unless the Broncos make the playoffs. That’s why I asked the coach if he harbored a concern that Paton, whom Fangio helped hire, might ultimately be forced to fire him.
“That’s just life in the NFL. He might have to, but I’m not worried about that in any shape or form,” replied Fangio, without a hint of irritation. “I know he’s not either, and we’re going to do everything we can to make the 2021 Broncos a winning team.”
While Fangio hoped Denver would pick a big thumper at inside linebacker during last spring’s draft, Elway instead opted for receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler during Rounds 1 and 2. Now, a team still suffering from chronic offensive impotency must be reshaped by the vision of Paton, rather than be built to the preferences of Fangio, hired by Elway to bring back the glory of a defense that dominated Super Bowl 50.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a bit odd in terms of organizational structure, not to mention a significant challenge to reinvent
ing a team’s culture, when neither Paton’s boss (Elway) nor the coach assigned to carry out his plan on the field (Fangio) might be actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the Broncos 12 months down the road.
“We’re aligned. We all believe that to draft and develop talent, you bring high-character players into your organization, you develop them and hopefully get them second contracts, and that’s how you build your best culture,” Paton said. “Now, when you go outside, will you be aggressive and dip into free agency or the trade market? Yeah, every now and then, but it takes that right type of player to do that.”
Not that I would ever tell Paton how to do his job, but only a knucklehead would fail to see how either Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson or veteran Atlanta signal-caller Matt Ryan might give a major boost to a winning culture in Denver.
After toiling for nearly 25 years, humbly beginning in the basement of the Chicago Bears’ front office way back in 1997, to become a general manager in the NFL, Paton would be well advised to have a coach who’s also a trusted sidekick, in much the same manner San Francisco’s John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are two amigos doing battle against the league.
In an effort to forge a BFF union, Fangio recently invited Paton over for a steak dinner. “Vic and I have spent a lot of time together the last week and a half, and it’s been not only about football but about his family,” Paton said. “He cooked me a nice dinner the other night, so I liked that.”
Well, maybe the way to a GM’s heart is through his stomach. Can this be the start of a beautiful relationship between Paton and Fangio that will return a proud franchise to elite status? Or was Paton’s hiring the beginning of the end for Uncle Vic?
Fangio and Paton have broken bread together during a meet-and-greet dinner hosted by the coach. Hey, it’s a start.
“He hasn’t been here long enough to get the meatballs yet. He’s got to prove his worth before he gets the meatballs. He’s well on his way there,” said Fangio, who doesn’t share his prized Italian recipe with just anybody.
So now we know Uncle Vic never meatballs on the first date. And I respect him for that.
But if the Broncos do anything less than make the playoffs next season, are Paton and Fangio doomed to break up?