George Paton has given Vic Fangio all he needs to succeed in what could be a prove-it year

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vic Fangio’s seat as the head coach of the Denver Broncos may be a little toasty as he enters his third year leading the organization. But George Paton is giving him every ice cube needed to cool it.

In Fangio’s first two years as the Broncos head coach, he’s compiled a 12-20 record. In Vance Joseph’s two seasons as Denver’s head coach, he went 11-21. Joseph didn’t see a third year.

But for a variety of reasons, Fangio will get a third year to turn the ship around and attempt to get the Broncos their first winning season since 2016 and their first playoff appearance since Super Bowl 50.

Instead of throwing Fangio to the wolves, the new general manager in town is giving the defensive-minded head coach everything he can possibly give him to succeed this year.

First off, Vic’s coaching staff has remained entirely Vic’s staff. There hasn’t been a single move made along the coaching staff that would indicate Paton has forced Fangio to change his staff in any way the head coach wouldn’t have done entirely on his own.

Additionally, and even more eye-opening, is nearly every move this offseason has been to benefit the 2021 Broncos and specifically a team led by a defensive-minded coach. Instead of looking toward the future — which Paton certainly could have done with the six-year contract he has — the GM has made countless win-now moves. And the majority have been on Vic’s side of the ball.

On the first day of free agency, Paton re-signed Shelby Harris — a player Fangio  spoke very highly of last year — to the tune of $9 million per year. Later that day, Paton began rebuilding the cornerback room that so desperately needed a makeover by dishing out $10 million per year for Ronald Darby.

Before Friday happy hour began that week, Paton had extended Justin Simmons — a crucial piece in Fangio’s defense — by making him the highest-paid safety in NFL history and made the only notable free agent signing on the offensive side of the ball by bringing in third-string running back Mike Boone.

By the time the weekend was over, Paton even got Fangio his guy by landing Kyle Fuller to a one-year deal an hour after he was officially released from the Chicago Bears.

One day before the draft came the most notable move of the offseason on the offensive side of the ball. And even that move of acquiring Teddy Bridgewater from the Carolina Panthers played into helping Fangio succeed this year by providing a safe, trustworthy and reliable option at quarterback to compete with Drew Lock.

Every big-time move leading into the draft was for Vic. Then the draft followed suit.

Not only were seven of Denver’s 10 draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, but the most notable pick of them all was the cherry and whip cream on top of what had already been a delightful offseason for the head coach.

Justin Fields certainly would have been the sexy pick at No. 9. It’s clear a first-round rookie quarterback would have been embraced by the fanbase.

But a defensive head coach doesn’t want to have to sit through the constant mistakes and steep learning curve that come with a rookie quarterback making one of the most difficult transitions in all of sports. Fangio had enough of that last year with Denver’s QB room.

So instead of going down that exciting, yet mistake-filled route for the 2021 season, Paton decided to give Vic another tool on defense by selecting the Broncos’ highest-rated defense player in the draft, cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Not only was it a big-time investment on the defensive side of the ball, Surtain is one of the draft’s most NFL ready players, meaning he will have an impact in 2021.

All of this doesn’t even take into account the potential the team trades multiple future first-round picks in order to acquire Aaron Rodgers — which if that happened would be the ultimate win-now move — that would unquestionably benefit Fangio.

But even without that blockbuster trade, Paton has made his first offseason as Broncos’ GM about giving his defensive-minded head coach resource after resource to succeed in their first year together.

There’s a belief by some that Fangio’s a sitting duck. If that’s the case, Paton’s given him body armor to survive as the Broncos’ head coach past 2021.

Now, it’s up to Vic.