John Elway expects Vic Fangio to adjust and learn from his mistakes

Vic Fangio owns a 12-20 win-loss record through his first two seasons with the Denver Broncos, not exactly a promising stat.

Despite the lack of winning over the last two years, Broncos president of football operations John Elway still believes in Fangio.

“I think Vic came a long way this year. When you don’t win, the mistakes get pointed out and emphasized. There were some mistakes that he made, and I think he’d be the first one to say that those were mistakes that he made, and he’ll learn from those. Vic is a very intelligent guy and he will adjust and learn from those mistakes,” Elway said on Jan. 4.

Elway noted that the COVID-19 pandemic and an overwhelming number of injuries to key players hurt Fangio’s chances to have success in 2020.

“I look at what went on, and the different things he had to deal with this year away from football were 10 times what he’d normally have to deal with. To get him back on a schedule — we had a ton of injuries, which put us behind the 8 ball, also. He had to deal with that. Just ending the year and understanding what it is to be the head coach and learning how to delegate his time and spend his time in different areas. I think he’ll get better.”

Fangio also still has the support of his players, including star safety Justin Simmons.

“We live in a world where everything’s instant,” Simmons said. “Instant gratification, and that’s just not how things work. At least not anything that’s worth having. Vic’s been in the league for a long time. [He] knows football better than a lot of people on social media says he does, and there’s just a learning curve that comes with being a head coach, and there’s a learning curve with all that stuff.

“No matter what you’re doing, where you’re going, there’s going to be a learning curve no matter how long you’ve been doing it. Not to mention that type of season that this was with the pandemic and the injuries that we’ve had — there’s a lot out there. Vic’s been great through it all. I know I’m just speaking for myself. I’ve loved having him as a coach.”

Elway and Simmons clearly agree that Fangio deserves a shot to turn things around in Year 3. If the coach doesn’t get the team back into playoff contention in 2021, then it might be time to have a different conversation. For now, Fangio is safe.