Broncos Fire HC Vic Fangio Following Third-Straight Losing Season
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On Saturday, Vic Fangio closed out his third season as Denver Broncos head coach. On Sunday, Fangio learned he would not be getting a fourth.
Outgoing Broncos CEO Joe Ellis announced in a statement that Fangio has been relieved of his duties, as now-sophomore general manager George Paton begins the search for the 63-year-old's successor.
"This morning, George and I informed Vic of the decision to part ways with him as head coach of the Denver Broncos," Ellis said. "For the last three seasons, Vic put his heart and soul into coaching the Broncos. I want to thank Coach Fangio for giving his maximum effort to our organization since the day he was hired.
"George will have full authority to select the next head coach of the Broncos. This is his decision and his program. I have complete confidence in George's ability to lead an exhaustive and successful head coaching search.
"We will give George every available resource and fully support him in hiring the very best head coach to lead the Broncos."
Hired in 2019, Fangio accumulated a 19-30 regular-season mark as Denver's head man. The team failed to reach the playoffs nor post a winning record — 7-9, 6-10, 7-10 — under his guidance. Moreover, Fangio finished 5-13 in games against AFC West opponents; he never beat Kansas City and was swept in 2021 by Las Vegas.
Although Fangio, who doubled as the play-caller, regularly fielded solid defenses, his tenure ultimately was done in by the Broncos' continued ineffectiveness on offense, which Fangio contributed to by replacing coordinator Rich Scangarello with Pat Shurmur in 2020 and hand-picking Teddy Bridgewater to be the starting quarterback this season. (Shumur, too, was pink-slipped Sunday.)
“The foundation is in place for this team to accomplish great things," Fangio said in a statement on his firing. "The future is bright for the Denver Broncos, and I wish the organization nothing but the best.”
The Broncos are expected to cast a wide net to find its next coach. Although the process likely will include interviews with rising assistants such as Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett, multiple reports have indicated that Paton could seek a retread with whom he's familiar — namely Cowboys DC Dan Quinn or former Eagles HC Doug Pederson.
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