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Broncos Reportedly Pick Bears DC Fangio

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, 60, has accepted Elway's offer to become the Denver Broncos' next head coach, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

 

Fangio replaces Vance Joseph , who was fired on New Year's Eve after posting the franchise's first back-to-back losing seasons since the early 1970s.

 

Fangio and Elway, who turns 59 this summer, will make up one of the oldest coach-GM duos in the NFL in 2019.

 

Although Fangio, who turns 61 in August, has no NFL head coaching experience, he has been an assistant for 32 years in the NFL and 34 seasons overall, beginning with the Philadelphia Stars of the old USFL in 1984.

 

Just like former Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Fangio relates to players less than half his age and commands a deep respect in the locker room.

 

Elway said when he began his search for his fourth head coach in six seasons that he values experience but also recognizes the need to modernize the Broncos' offensive and defensive schemes to keep up with the run-pass option craze that has swept through the NFL and rendered traditional systems antiquated.

 

Elway didn't believe that innovation necessitated a young, up-and-coming head coach, however. So, instead of going with a fresh-faced offensive-minded novice in the mold of the Rams' Sean McVay, he zeroed in on the grizzled gridiron lifer who's more like his first head coaching hire, John Fox, or even the Chiefs' Andy Reid.

 

The 2018 season was his best as Fangio guided a Bears defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL, allowed a league-low 17.7 points per game and led the Bears into the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

 

When word got out that Elway had chosen Fangio, Bears cornerback Prince Amukamar a tweeted the hashtag "curse words" and Chicago wide receiver Allen Robinson II tweeted the broken heart emoji.

 

Fangio inherits a Broncos team that's coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72, a hard fall for a franchise that was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just three years ago thanks to Von Miller's MVP performance in Super Bowl 50.

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