Vic Fangio Reveals Why He Declined the Broncos' DC Job in 2023

We now know exactly why Vance Joseph became Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2023 and not Vic Fangio.

Dec 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio might have failed to reignite the franchise's slumbering fortunes, but his acumen as an elite defensive coordinator remains beyond reproach. Fangio's prodigious ability to put together formidable defensive units will once again be put to the test this Sunday when his Philadelphia Eagles take on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, getting one over the ever-elusive Mahomes was something Fangio never accomplished during the three seasons he spent pulling the strings in Denver. For Eagles fans, it will be particularly bothersome to be reminded that Fangio is a dismal 0-8 in his contests against the Chiefs' superstar quarterback. 

Current Broncos head coach Sean Payton finally snapped the Chiefs' winning streak in 2023 and almost beat them twice in 2024. Despite Fangio's inability to sink the Mahomes ship, Payton was serious about bringing him back to be the Broncos defensive coordinator when he took originally over in 2023.

When Fangio passed on Payton's offer, the Broncos hired Fangio's predecessor as head coach, Vance Joseph. We've recently learned that Fangio felt that the timing was too soon and the feelings too raw to return to the Broncos one year after being fired as head coach.

"We were gonna do that, but at the time I thought it was too early to go back," Fangio revealed via Denver Sports' Andrew Mason. "I don't think anybody would have been ready for it at that point. It would have been an unnecessary story angle for too many people." 

Now guiding the Eagles defense in Super Bowl LIX, former Broncos coach Vic Fangio explains why he declined to return to Denver as defensive coordinator under Sean Payton in 2023. "We were gonna do that, but at the time I thought it was too early to go back," Fangio said. "I don't… pic.twitter.com/sGw3DzroL8

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) February 4, 2025

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Fangio is saying that he didn't want his return to affect Payton's ability to take control of the Broncos. And it was a fair concern, considering that most of the 2023 locker room played under him in 2021, his final year as head coach.

After posting consecutive 7 -9, 5-11, and 7-10 losing seasons as Broncos head coach, it became clear that Fangio had run out of ideas and runway, as his regime struggled to overcome quarterback instability, some of his own making.

Fangio wore out his welcome in some circles of the media, many of whom had grown tired of him sticking to his more traditional methods. Abruptly halting the development of young signal-caller Drew Lock in favor of starting veteran Teddy Bridgewater made Fangio look less than ambitious and forward-thinking and more fearful of losing his job. 

Ironically, when Payton lost out on hiring Fangio, he got Joseph to put his troublesome history in the rearview mirror and return to lead the defense. For as gruff and old-fashioned as Fangio can be, the 66-year-old remains balanced in his overview of what happens in this cutthroat league when you don't win enough football games. 

Fangio still thinks the Broncos should have given him one more year, although he wasn't surprised when he was handed his walking papers.

"I don't think so, I mean, not really. You know, it was three years we—7-9 the last year, or 7-10. I mean, in retrospect, they probably should have (given him one more year)," Fangio said via Mason. "But when you don't produce, you could be gone." 

Was Vic Fangio surprised he didn't get a fourth Broncos season as head coach after going 7-9, 5-11 and 7-10 in his three years?

"Not really," he says.

But he believes he should have gotten a fourth season.

"Yeah. But when you don't produce, you could be gone," he said. pic.twitter.com/6XKuo4u2Ge

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) February 4, 2025

This Super Bowl Sunday, Fangio will continue his quest for a championship, and he will doubtless do so with the backing of Broncos Country. It's funny how letting bygones be bygones is a lot easier when framed over the passage of time.

Fangio returning to the Broncos coaching staff in the NFL's equivalent of a blink of an eye was a bridge too far, and he knew it. Now, Broncos Country just wants to see Fangio stop the Chiefs.

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