Broncos Pick 'Em: What does Vic Fangio have to do to remain Denver's head coach after this season?

Coming off the best win of his career as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Vic Fangio’s stock is as high as it’s been this year.

Despite numerous injuries, Denver’s defense has flashed dominance. The Broncos are only 0.5 game back of first place in the AFC West.

Guiding the Broncos to a winning record through nine games, what does Fangio need to do to keep his job into the 2022 season?

The DNVR Crew breaks it down in the tenth edition of Broncos Pick ‘Em.

All odds below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

What does Vic Fangio have to do to remain the Broncos’ coach in 2022?

Zac: Stay close to .500 — George Paton stated his goal for this season was for the Broncos to be competitive in November and December.

Well, it’s the first week of November and the Broncos are certainly competitive as they sit only 0.5 games back of the AFC West lead. If Denver finishes with at least eight wins, they’ll likely be competitive once December rolls around too.

Yes, yes, yes, being around .500 isn’t the Denver Broncos standard. But the Broncos have fallen far from their standard over the past five years.

A 9-8 season this year and Fangio will be back. An 8-9 season, with the right finish, and Fangio will be back for another year. Anything short of that, and Vic’s tenure with the Broncos will be over.

Some may say, why should Fangio be back with a losing 8-9 record? It would be three more wins than the team had last year and the Broncos would clearly be trending in the right direction.

Additionally, I believe Paton when he said one of the reasons he took this job was because Fangio was the head coach. On top of that, in his 14-year career with the Vikings, Paton and Minnesota only had three head coaches. If he’s anything like Rick Spielman, his former boss, he won’t be quick to move on from coaches. An 8-9 record this year would be enough for Paton to give Fangio at least one more year.

Getting to 8-9, however, won’t be an easy task as the Broncos only have two more games against teams with losing records.

Mase: Make the playoffs — Playing relevant games in the final two months of the calendar year was just the first step. But to generate stability on the sideline, these Broncos need to snag one of the seven AFC postseason spots.

That is easier said than done, even though the standings reveal that the Broncos are in the thick of the race. For starters, the Broncos have already lost four games to teams also in the playoff mix: Baltimore. Cleveland, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. Not only does that affect the Broncos’ standing in potential head-to-head tiebreakers, but if divisional tiebreakers go to common opponents — which is right behind divisional record and head-to-head — all games against the AFC North would count against the Broncos. (However, their 3-0 record against the NFC East would help, since the entire AFC West faces that quartet.)

So, if the Broncos miss the playoffs and still have a winning record, why move on? The answer could lie in whatever their plan is at quarterback. If they have chosen to try to trade for a veteran, a coaching change to someone that as-yet-unknown veteran might prefer could help clear a path. If they decide to opt for a quarterback in this year’s draft class, Paton may prefer an offensive-oriented head coach and staff to build the team around that young passer’s development.

Paton is already doing his homework on draftable QBs, having seen Liberty’s Malik Willis, Mississippi’s Matt Corral, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Pitt’s Kenny Pickett in the last eight days. Clearly, settling QB is a priority, and if the Broncos miss the playoffs, getting QB-coach alignment could be atop Paton’s to-do list, and could lead to further tweaks in his second year with the club.

RK: Be in contention for the playoffs late — I really want to say he needs to make the playoffs, but I don’t necessarily believe that is the case, if the Broncos are in the hunt for the playoffs going into Week 17 and lose because Patrick Mahomes goes all Patrick Mahomes on them, I don’t believe George Paton is going to can Vic Fangio.

Hell, Paton himself said the goal is to be playing meaningful games in December, so if the Broncos can stay on that course I think Fangio keeps his job.

What’s crazy is, if the Broncos win on Sunday, they’re almost guaranteed to be playing meaningful games in December. Coach accordingly, coach.

Picks Picks Picks

Teddy Bridgewater passing yards over/under 256.5

Zac: Under.

Mase: Under.

RK: Over.

Jalen Hurts passing yards over/under 198.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Under.

RK: Under.

Jalen Hurts rushing yards over/under 46.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Javonte Williams rushing yards over/under 48.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Melvin Gordon rushing yards over/under 49.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Jerry Jeudy receiving yards over/under 57.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Courtland Sutton receiving yards over/under 47.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Tim Patrick receiving yards over/under 36.5

Zac: Over. Easily.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

DeVonta Smith receiving yards over/under 58.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Over.

RK: Under.

Dallas Goedert receiving yards over/under 45.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Under.

RK: Under.

Jalen Hurts + Melvin Gordon total rushing touchdowns over/under 1.5

Zac: Over.

Mase: Under.

RK: Under.

Broncos total points over/under 24.5

Zac: Juuuuust under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Eagles total points over/under 21.5

Zac: Juuuuust under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Broncos-Eagles over/under 45.5

Zac: Juuuuust under.

Mase: Over.

RK: Over.

Eagles @ Broncos (-2.5)

Zac: Broncos.

Mase: Broncos.

RK: Eagles.

Vikings @ Chargers (-2.5)

Zac: Bolts.

Mase: Chargers.

RK: Vikes.

Chiefs (-2.5) @ Raiders

Zac: Chiefs.

Mase: Chiefs.

RK: Chiefs.

Leaderboard

Last week

RK: 9-6

Mase: 6-9

Zac: 5-10

Overall

Zac: 59-70

RK: 54-75

Mase: 53-76