Kiszla: After Broncos lose for 11th straight time to Kansas City, is it time to fire coach Vic Fangio? - The Denver Post

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Broncos haven’t been this miserable since coach Vic Fangio was a child. And he’s 62 years old. We’re all sick and tired of this stuff.

Try as he might, Uncle Vic cannot beat the Chiefs. The Broncos fought like snarling underdogs Sunday but they ultimately lost 22-16 to Kansas City out of habit. And I irrationally began to wonder if the Broncos will ever beat the Chiefs again, while graybeards like Fangio and me are still above ground to enjoy it.

“There’s no moral victories,” said Fangio.

He punted at midfield in the fourth quarter rather than going for the jugular against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. It was a puzzling decision by a Denver team with nothing to lose. “Should have probably gone for it,” Fangio admitted.

After 28 games in charge of this once-proud franchise, Fangio’s overall record in Denver is 11-17. That’s not Vance Joseph bad. But definitely not good.

So the question needs to be asked: Should Fangio get the chance to coach the Broncos again in 2021?

And my answer is: Yes.

Is this a resounding endorsement? No.

But retaining Fangio is the sensible and fair thing to do.

It’s not his fault that stars Von Miller and Courtland Sutton got hurt. It’s ridiculous to think Andy Reid or any current NFL coach could succeed in a year when the Broncos have started three quarterbacks and played another game without the benefit of a professional QB at all.

Scapegoating Fangio, sending him packing at season’s end, would be nothing more than a weak attempt to mask far bigger problems.

When it would’ve been easy to go through the motions and get back home to trim the Christmas tree, the Broncos played with fire and passion for Uncle Vic.

“People’s jobs are on the line,” Denver defensive end Shelby Harris said. “You’re fighting for your job … If you’re not, you’re going to be out of this league.”

Running back Melvin Gordon rumbled like an avalanche down a mountain. Receiver Tim Patrick was magnetic whenever quarterback Drew Lock lofted a pass in his vicinity. Safety Justin Simmons drew a hard line in the red zone, forcing the Chiefs to settle for field goals until Mahomes hit Travis Kelce for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 66 seconds remaining in the third period.

But the spirit that moved Denver to play its feistiest game of the season?

That would be Harris. He is the new House of Mutombo.

He makes QBs feel rejected. Without Harris’ tip of a Mahomes pass during the final seconds of the second quarter, the Broncos could not have taken a 10-9 lead into halftime.

And did my eyes deceive me, or did Harris also dance lightly on his 290-pound frame and wrestle greased lightning to the ground with a tackle of Tyreek Hill, the most dangerous man in Kansas City?

When Harris missed four games with COVID-19, the Broncos really missed him. He’s glue. He makes money moves. There’s nothing Harris cannot do.

“Man, I love this stuff. C’mon, I’ve been watching on TV for four weeks,” Harris said. “It’s so special to get back on that field with my boys and just ride.”

If John Elway doesn’t finally show this passionate defender serious love as a free agent, it wouldn’t surprise me if Harris departed Denver for a new adventure. And the next time we see him? Harris might be dressed as a Daisy so fresh he makes Cardi B envious, while putting his signature on “Bodak Yellow” as a contestant on the Masked Singer.

As much as Broncos Country likes Harris, we all know it will take far more than bringing him back to make Denver a serious playoff threat next season.

Until the franchise resolves an ugly family tiff among the Bickering Bowlens about ownership, why would our old pal Eric Bieniemy or any other hot coaching prospect take the job now held by Fangio.

The Broncos played desperate football for him in Kansas City.

“I wouldn’t call it desperation,” Fangio said. “I think our team played extremely hard and with a lot of might. And I think that’s well-established here.”

If the tandem of Fangio and Lock cannot get the Broncos back to the playoffs in 2021, wouldn’t it also make sense to thank John Elway for his service rather than allowing him to pick yet another coach and quarterback for the team?

Tough decisions await the Broncos. How much money will Miller be willing to sacrifice to play his entire career in Denver? Will patience allow Lock to bloom, as Josh Allen did with time in Buffalo, or is that notion a fanciful waste of everybody’s time? If the rest of the family gave Beth Bowlen Wallace $400 million to go away, would she send us a postcard from Bali?

With Broncos doomed to miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season, the easy thing to do would be to blame Uncle Vic.

It also would be a wrong-headed decision by an NFL franchise that has forgotten how to do the right thing.

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Kiszla: After Broncos lose for 11th straight time to Kansas City, is it time to fire coach Vic Fangio? - The Denver Post
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