Every soccer trainer does it his way, but no one does it quite like brand new Broncos coach Vic Fangio. How to define his coaching style, in one word?
Silence.
“It’s hard to get a read on him,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons stated through the group ’s opening spring exercises with Fangio. “You typically can get a read on an individual ’s facial expressions or body sense, (but) he’s just like this plain gray outfit he wears 24/7 … You could ’t tell what he’s believing. Is he happy? Sad? Pleased? Displeased? ”
Some coaches are yellers, using foul-mouthed curses functioning as ear-rattling exclamations to drive house every stage. Other coaches are positively optimistic, putting the tempo with relentless hand claps and inviting back slaps.
Fangio is a different breed of cat. He keeps his mouth closed and his eyes wide open.
Wearing the beloved gray sweats which are his second skin, Fangio sees what, with a stare that never fades. It’s true, you better believe Denver players feel that his laser-pointer gaze on their backs. “It’s a Godfather … mob-esque mindset,” Simmons explained.
The Fangio Stare, soon to be renowned across Broncos Country, isn’t restricted to the soccer field. He is a sports junkie. When the Nuggets were rival in the NBA playoffs, the newest Broncos coach liked to appear for matches. But unlike all-world linebacker Von Miller or even Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon, Fangio did not sit courtside, in these check-me-out-on-the-jumbo-screen celebrity seats.
The 60-year-old NFL coach instead hunkered down on the aisle, in an inconspicuous corner of the Pepsi Center, then inhaled every shot and rally with his eyesas his chin rested in one hand whose fingers covered his mouth. And nothing, not even a buff crawling over the top of Fangio about the road to the concession stand, but could interrupt his gaze because Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets rushed down the court.
The Godfather never fades.
Among the more revealing things Fangio has said during his brief tenure features insight to the reason he doesn’t like to coach-up players together with constant chatter about the practice field.
“I don’t mention that a good deal out there, since during the game (coaches are) around the sidelines also also you could ’t talk to the players aside from in between show,” Fangio stated. “I like to see them perform without people inside their ear, then telling them what to do. ”
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Ah, hah. So there’s a technique to this bothersome silence. The Broncos won’t be robots in the control of the trainer. We are beginning to get an inkling of what Fangio is attempting to instill in his players.
But on the field, when it’therefore fourth quarter of a tight match against the Kansas City Chiefs, Fangio doesn’t need his own nagging voice echoing in the ears of Bradley Chubb or even Chris Harris Jr., since noise would just slow them down.
Now, please do not misunderstand. Fangio comes off as a guy of few words, but he’s about teaching minutes and strict attention to detail. This coach, however, favors his serious instruction be completed from the classrooms at team headquarters.
What Fangio wants to see about the field is rate; rate that’s a natural by-product of each detail responsibility being ingrained in a player’so mind; rate that can shake the poise of the opposing quarterback with an unexpected safety blitz.
“Vic Fangio is what you call in our livelihood a master trainer. He’s already been there, done this. Great background. Wonderful X’s O’s. He has figured out how to build defenses and win matches in the National Football League, that is frickin’ challenging,” said University of Colorado football coach Mel Tucker, a recent guest to some Broncos practice.
What does Tucker appreciate most about Fangio?
“His defenses perform fast as hell,” Tucker explained.
Most of us remember Super Bowl 50, when Vonster and the gang had been buzzing about so fast it created Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s mind spin. So I inquired Fangio: What are the keys to getting the Broncos to perform lightning fast on defense?
“Getting them to understand their assignments and their approach in order that they can operate fast,” Fangio replied.
“Responsibility first, technique-driven second. When you have complete confidence in these two things and you’re effective, you will play fast. ”
Talk is cheap. Speed kills.
Idle chit-chat? Fangio has no time for it.
He’d instead stand back and see, as his defense makes a significant play, ending up Philip Rivers or shutting Patrick Mahomes, in a manner that causes Broncosmaniacs to stone the stadium with cheers.
There’s no sweeter noise in the NFL.
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