Broncos G.M. John Elway’s struggles in finding a great quarterback have been rivaled only by his struggles to find a great coach. Elway thinks he has finally found a great coach.
“He’s been everything that I thought he would be,” Elway told reporters on Saturday regarding new coach Vic Fangio. “I like his style and the way he goes about it with no music and the focus that he has brought back to the practice field, the tempo and the reps. I’m excited about where we are, but obviously we’ve still got to win football games. I feel good about where we are.”
Elway was asked whether he sees similarities between Fangio’s style and former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who apparently came close to becoming Broncos coach again in 2018.
“Absolutely,” Elway said. “I think that comes from his experience, his background and where he is from. I think that the discipline and the attention to detail is there, and I think that is the difference maker. Mike brought that and Vic is the same way when it comes down to the defensive side and what he expects. Yeah, there is a lot of similarities for Mike and Vic. The other thing is, they are both -- Mike was great on the offense and Vic is great on the defensive side. That’s mainly what I was looking for in a new head coach, and fortunately we found Vic.”
Shanahan was back in the building for joint practices between the Broncos and 49ers, and Fangio has sufficient self-confidence to not be threatened by Shanahan’s presence. With one caveat when it comes to the team Shanahan’s son, Kyle, coaches.
“I’ve made it very clear to him that he’s welcome to come over here anytime,” Fangio told reporters, “unless we’re playing the Niners in a real game.”
That won’t happen again until 2022. In light of the annual turnover among NFL head coaches, there’s a chance that both teams will have new coaches by then.