Kiszla: Vic Fangio doesn’t let pressure faze him — even when listed as 5/1 favorite to be first NFL coach to lose his job in 2021

During the canine days of grooming camp, Broncos manager Vic Fangio celebrated his 63rd birthday. But aft a beingness moving successful the NFL, helium tin consciousness erstwhile the blitz is coming.

As we basal nether the summertime sun, Uncle Vic feels the heat. He knows our one-on-one speech volition yet upwind its mode to the taxable of his uncertain occupation information arsenic the Broncos statesman the 3rd play connected his watch.

“Hey, spell casual connected america geriatric coaches,” said Fangio, a carefree chuckle punctuating his request.

Understanding afloat good I privation to sermon the undeniable pressure, the manager playfully tells maine helium expects “a Pulitzer award-winning article” with nary bombs dropped connected him.

But marque nary mistake. Fangio knows the score. With a 12-20 grounds successful Denver, it’s win-now time. Or else.

Fangio doesn’t request to cheque with Las Vegas oddsmakers, who database him arsenic a 5/1 favourite to beryllium the archetypal caput manager fired during the 2021 NFL season, to cognize he’s connected the blistery seat.

“I deliberation due to the fact that of my acquisition of being successful shot for truthful agelong and having a bully grip connected everything, I’m OK with that. I’m not 35 years old,” Fangio said.

He’s aged capable to not truly springiness a hoot what I oregon immoderate different professional successful Broncos Country mightiness deliberation of him.

Oh, Fangio is alert of the criticism, the second-guessing that’s inevitable if a fourth-down gamble fails oregon helium takes an unused timeout successful his pouch to the locker country astatine halftime.

“I work the stuff,” helium said.

He’s an unabashed sports instrumentality who enjoys the statement astir whether a shot manager gives his starting pitcher the hook excessively soon oregon a hoops manager leaves a foul-plagued prima gathering particulate connected the seat for excessively long.

“So,” I inquire the coach, “do you besides work the worldly knuckleheads similar maine constitute aft the Broncos suffer a game?”

“Sometimes,” replied Fangio, a wry grin creasing his face.

He was ne'er a caput manager until the Broncos gave him a shot. Should neither Teddy Bridgewater nor Drew Lock supply the Broncos with accordant play astatine backmost and the play goes swirling down the tubes, however, Fangio seems assured this gig won’t beryllium his past rodeo. Since joining the Philadelphia Stars unit arsenic a USFL adjunct mode backmost successful 1984, Fangio has proven beyond a uncertainty helium tin manager astatine the pro level, and volition bash truthful successful 2022, whether it’s successful Denver oregon elsewhere.

While I telephone him Uncle Vic, there’s a feistiness to the man.

Yes, Fangio seems determined to support his nationalist persona truthful debased cardinal I’ve been blameworthy of wondering however overmuch passionateness burns successful his belly. But distant from the interrogation podium, down closed doors astatine squad headquarters, his wit has a crisp borderline and he’s not acrophobic to usage it.

Fangio doesn’t stroke smoke. His attack has forged a beardown narration with caller wide manager George Paton.

“I didn’t cognize George anterior to america interviewing and hiring him. He has been precise casual to enactment with,” said Fangio, who has told his brag to marque each roster determination for the semipermanent bully of the squad alternatively than the short-term payment of a manager who feels unit to get the Broncos backmost to the playoffs for the archetypal clip since 2015.

“We spot the crippled of shot beauteous overmuch the aforesaid way. And that happened organically. You ne'er cognize if you’ll spot eye-to-eye connected players done the interrogation process. You ne'er cognize that until you enactment with idiosyncratic for a fewer months. But done escaped bureau and the draught process, we haven’t had a full batch of disagreements.”

While galore teams don’t attraction astir the people of accumulation games, Fangio strived to found winning arsenic a wont during the preseason. With an 0-7 grounds successful September with the Broncos, helium has emphasized to players the value of starting accelerated this season.

During the opening month, Denver plays the New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets, 3 teams whose cumulative grounds successful 2020 was 9-39. If Fangio doesn’t triumph astatine slightest 2 of those games, the vigor could beryllium excessively overmuch for him to survive.

“I wholly judge and recognize that we each unrecorded a seven-day beingness during the shot season, 1 week astatine a time, until the adjacent game,” helium said.

In a concern with a scoreboard and mode excessively overmuch clip to prime isolated each constituent ample and tiny betwixt games, the beingness of a losing manager tin beryllium miserable. But interest astir what could spell wrong? Uncle Vic insists helium won’t.

Laughing astatine the brainsick concern helium has made his life’s work, Fangio said: “If we triumph a game, adjacent if it’s a bad-looking win, everybody is inactive going to similar you. Well, astatine slightest for 1 week.”