Broncos Rumors: Denver Closing In On Bears Assistant For Head Coach Job?

The search for the new head coach of the Denver Broncos might come to an end soon. Chicago Tribune beat reporter Brad Biggs reported on Monday that the Broncos had completed their interview with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

The interview came less than 24 hours after the Bears’ stunning home playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. According to Biggs, Fangio held a meeting with Bears players at the team’s facility after the interview. Broncos beat reporter Mike Klis reported Denver’s interview team has pushed back their flight out of Chicago from noon to 5:30 p.m.

Fangio has been the betting favorite to get the job for a while now. The 60-year-old assistant has been a defensive coordinator in the NFL since 2011, first with Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers and then with the Bears, starting in 2015. The 49ers never finished worse than 5th in the NFL in total defense under Fangio, while the Bears steadily improved over the years to become the league’s best scoring defense in 2018.

Previous reports over the weekend indicated that the Broncos might be leaning towards Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak for the job. Or, at least, that Munchak wanted the job. ESPN’s Jeff Legwold said on Saturday that the Broncos had interviewed Munchak, former Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano, New England Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor.

If the Broncos do indeed hire Fangio, it could show that GM John Elway prefers veterans to younger assistants. Taylor and Flores are both younger than 40, while Pagano and Munchak are both 58-year-old former head coaches. Fangio has never been a head coach in the NFL, but he has decades of experience as an assistant and defensive coordinator.