Vic Fangio Sends Message to Broncos When Asked About Revenge Angle

The Denver Broncos' Week 3 road tilt vs. the Miami Dolphins has storylines galore. Not only are the Broncos looking for the first win of the Sean Payton era, but two guys in Miami could have a little something extra to play for.

Vic Fangio, who served as the Broncos' head coach from 2019-21, is now the defensive coordinator in Miami, while Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb — a former top-5 draft pick in Denver — was traded away at the deadline last fall. Fangio is typically a cool customer, especially at the podium, so when he was asked whether there's any additional motivation this week with the Broncos on the docket, he did his best to deny it.

"No, I really don't," Fangio said. "Every game we play in this league is equally important. I'm sure when I see some of the people that are still there that I know, [I'll] say hello and think back a little bit. But I enjoyed my time there. There are still about 15 or 16 players that are on the team from when I was there. I wish them nothing but success, except this week. I really don't look at it much differently. If the game had been in Denver, maybe."

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It sounds like Fangio is very much looking forward to getting reacquainted with a few of his former players. Guys like safety Kareem Jackson, cornerback Patrick Surtain II, linebacker Josey Jewell, and safety Justin Simmons shined under Fangio. Alas, Simmons has been ruled out of Week 3's action, though.

As head coach in Denver, Fangio went 19-30. The Broncos couldn't get the quarterback situation right, and Fangio made a couple of bad decisions relative to the offensive coordinator position.

The Broncos fired him following the 2021 season after a 7-10 finish with Teddy Bridgewater as the starting QB for most of the campaign. Bridgewater as QB was a Fangio thing, as the venerated defensive coach had soured on Drew Lock, who was a member of Fangio's maiden draft class in Denver.

However, for the most part, Fangio's defenses in Denver were good, though not great. His coaching tree continues to bear fruit for assistants, while teams across the NFL have rushed to implement some version of the Fangio defensive scheme, including the Broncos under new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

In Joseph's case, he's built the 2023 defense on the bones of what Ejiro Evero established last year, which, again, was a continuation of the Fangio scheme. Joseph is still looking for some success defensively, and that'll be hard to buy this week with the force of nature that is the Dolphins' offense.

Joseph wasn't necessarily Payton's first choice for defensive coordinator, though. Payton tried to talk Fangio into returning to coach the defense, but after taking the 2022 season off, it was too soon for him to really even contemplate going back to Denver, even though former president of football operations and GM John Elway no longer has a role with the team.

GM George Paton does, however, and even though Fangio reportedly got along well with Denver's front office executive, he's also the guy who handed him his walking papers. Too much water under that bridge.

For Joseph, though, enough time had seemingly passed since he served as head coach in Denver (2017-18) to countenance a return as a coordinator. However, Joseph's coaching tree has sprung just one branch in the form of Joe Woods, and it hasn't exactly been anything to write home about.

Fangio, on the other hand, remains the in-vogue defense across the fruited plain, and is still venerated as one of the top defensive wizards of the past 20 years, although his NFL resume dates all the way back to the 1980s in New Orleans. However, the Fangio era in Miami is off to a less-than-stellar start, as the Dolphins are ranked No. 24 in total yards allowed, No. 28 in rushing (160.5 per game), and No. 19 in points (25.5 per game).

If Joseph's defense is unable to limit the Dolphins, Fangio's job could be made all the easier if Payton is forced to abandon the run game to keep up. Chubb will be hungry to notch a sack or three on Russell Wilson, and rekindle his training camp rivalry with left tackle Garett Bolles, the last of whom, no doubt, loves Bradley "dearly."

Time will tell how Week 3 shakes out, but don't let Fangio's affable coach-speak fool you. He would love nothing more than to beat the Broncos this week, and if you think that this game doesn't come with an additional spice layer for both Fangio and Chubb, there's a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

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