5. Vic Fangio, Denver Broncos
It didn’t feel like the best hire when the Denver Broncos brought in Vic Fangio ahead of the 2019 season but team president of football operations, John Elway, continued to preach that Fangio was the right guy.
A former defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears, Fangio has had success as a positions coach and coordinator but it felt like a weird move to go with a 61-year-old first-time while every other team was finding success with younger coaches when taking a chance on a guy who hasn’t done it at the professional level (much in the same way the Texans hiring of Culley bucked the normal trend).
In his first season with the Broncos, he led them to a 7-9 record while working with Joe Flacco and Drew Lock at quarterback. Lock had a lot to do with their success that season as he was 4-1 down the stretch which gave them some hope heading into the 2020 season.
It didn’t take long for that hope to die as Denver went 5-11 and was 4-9 with Lock. Even worse than the struggles of Lock is how the defense has performed. Fangio, a defensive-minded coach, saw them fall from No. 12 in 2019 to No. 21 this past season in yards surrendered. The Broncos also dropped from 10th in points to 25th.
Even the biggest supporters of Fangio can’t say this is acceptable, especially given his background. That puts him firmly on the hot seat entering this season.