Sean Payton Sounds Off on Dolphins DC Vic Fangio

Sean Payton tried to bring Vic Fangio back to Denver, and now the two venerated coaches are set to square off in Miami.

Had Vic Fangio been willing to grasp at the olive branch that Sean Payton extended to him as readily as Vance Joseph did, the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins' coaching staffs would look quite different today.

As fate would have it, Week 3 will see Fangio calling plays as defensive coordinator for the Dolphins against the team that fired him after three seasons as head coach. New Broncos head coach Sean Payton's offseason recruitment pitch to Fangio ultimately came up short, triggering the controversial 360-degree pivot to appoint Joseph as the Broncos alternate defensive coordinator.

Fangio's proven track record of success creates a steady stream of admirers and a demand for his expert defensive services. For Coach Payton, it brings levels of familiarity into play, especially with how Fangio likes to set up his defenses in order to prevent big plays in the passing game.

"There are certain things that evolve," Payton said of Fangio on Wednesday. "[It's] no different than how they would evolve with offenses. He's always done a great job of keeping the roof on coverage. You have to sustain drives, and it is hard to find big plays based on the structure of his defense. It's easy to say they're very sound. Most defenses are, but it's the technique they play with, and they're well-coached."

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It would certainly be a stretch for anyone to believe that Payton holds some kind of card up his sleeve that he's been waiting to deploy against Fangio. It's all about doing his homework and attacking every angle prior to Sunday's matchup in Miami.

On that front, at least Payton has some inside information to draw on from some of his current defensive players who were around when Fangio was coaching in Denver. Even though it was Ejiro Evero coordinating Denver's defense last year, the unit was built on the foundation Fangio established during his three years as head coach from 2019-21. 

"All these guys. We're surrounded by last year's scheme," Payton said. "We had a number of discussions last night when I walked down the hallway. 'What do you think?' I was just talking to [S] Kareem [Jackson] earlier. Right when I walked out to practice, I had a question regarding some red zone stuff, so yeah."

Fangio is still trying to sort out his run defense in Miami, which has been particularly bothersome for the 65-year-old coach after his unit relinquished 234 rushing yards against the Los Angeles Chargers during Week 1.

You can call it overtly tipping his hand, but Payton's insistence that the Broncos need to control the football this Sunday suggests they will deploy heavy doses of the running game to attack Miami. It also stands to reason that the best approach to Miami's red-hot offense, which is under the stewardship of former Broncos ball-boy Mike McDaniel, is to keep it on the sideline.

How Payton pits his wits against Fangio's formidable defensive chops will remain the top storyline of Sunday's action in Miami. However, the subplot of Fangio spurning Payton's purported interest in bringing him back as defensive coordinator remains an intriguing subplot. 

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