Fangio Stare redefines defense
Every football coach does it his way, but nobody does it quite like new Broncos coach Vic Fangio. How to define his coaching style, in a word? Silence.
“It’s tough to get a read on him,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said during the team’s introductory spring drills with Fangio. “You typically can get a read on someone’s facial expressions or body demeanor, (but) he’s just like that plain gray outfit he wears 24/7 … You can’t tell what he’s thinking. Is he happy? Sad? Pleased? Displeased?”
Some coaches are yellers, with foul-mouthed curses serving as ear-rattling exclamations to drive home every point. Other coaches are positively upbeat, setting the tempo with relentless hand claps and encouraging back slaps.
Fangio is a different breed of cat. He keeps his mouth closed and his eyes wide open.
Wearing the beloved gray sweats that are his second skin, Fangio sees everything, with a stare that never blinks. Yes, you better believe Denver players feel his laser-pointer gaze on their backs. “It’s a Godfather … mob-esque mentality,” Simmons said.
The Fangio Stare, soon to be famous throughout Broncos Country, is not limited to the football field. He is a sports junkie. When the Nuggets were competing in the NBA playoffs, the new Broncos coach liked to show up for games. But unlike all-world linebacker Von Miller or Avalanche star Nathan Mackinnon, Fangio did not sit courtside, in those check-me-out-onthe-jumbo-screen celebrity seats.
The 60-year-old NFL coach instead hunkered down on the aisle, in an inconspicuous corner of the Pepsi Center, then inhaled every shot and rebound with his eyes, as his chin rested in a hand whose fingers covered his mouth. And nothing, not even a fan crawling over the top of Fangio on the way to the concession stand, could interrupt his gaze as Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets ran down the court.
The Godfather never blinks. One of the more revealing things Fangio has said during his brief tenure offers insight to why he doesn’t like to coach-up players with constant chatter on the practice field.
“I don’t say a whole lot out
there, because during the game (coaches are) on the sidelines and you can’t talk to the players other than in between series,” Fangio said. “I like to see them play without people in their ear, telling them what to do.”
Ah, hah. So there is a method to this maddening silence. The Broncos will not be robots at the command of this coach. We are beginning to get an inkling of what Fangio is trying to instill in his players.
On the field, when it’s the fourth quarter of a tight game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Fangio doesn’t want his nagging voice echoing in the ears of Bradley Chubb or Chris Harris Jr., because that noise would only slow them down.
Now, please do not misunderstand. Fangio comes off as a man of few words, but he’s all about teaching moments and strict attention to detail. This coach, however, prefers his serious instruction be done in the classrooms at team headquarters.
What Fangio wants to see on the field is speed; speed that is a natural by-product of every detail responsibility being ingrained in a player’s head; speed that can shake the poise of the opposing quarterback with an unexpected safety blitz.
“Vic Fangio is what you call in our profession a master coach. He’s been there, done that. Great background. Great X’s and O’s. He has figured out how to build defenses and win games in the National Football League, which is frickin’ hard,” said University of Colorado football coach Mel Tucker, a recent visitor to a Broncos practice.
What does Tucker appreciate most about Fangio?
“His defenses play fast as hell,” Tucker said.
We all remember Super Bowl 50, when Vonster and the gang were buzzing around so quickly it made Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s head spin. So I asked Fangio: What are the keys to getting the Broncos to play lightning fast on defense?
“Getting them to understand their assignments and their technique so they can operate fast,” Fangio replied.
“Responsibility first, technique-driven second. When you have total confidence in those two things and you’re efficient, you will play fast.”
Talk is cheap. Speed kills. Idle chit-chat? Fangio has no time for it.
He would rather stand back and watch, as his defense makes a big play, shutting up Philip Rivers or shutting down Patrick Mahomes, in a way that causes Broncosmaniacs to rock the stadium with cheers.
There’s no sweeter noise in the NFL.