The first time Sean Payton and Vic Fangio coached in an NFL game against each other came in 1999.
Fangio was the new defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, while Payton served as quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants.
Fangio’s group got the better of Payton’s that day, a 27-19 Indianapolis victory.
Their first time against each other as playcallers came in 2002, when Payton, then the Giants’ offensive coordinator, lost again to Fangio’s Houston Texans, 16-14.
They’ve squared off several times since, most recently in Denver’s 70-20 blowout loss two years ago in Payton’s third game as the Broncos’ head coach and Fangio’s third as Miami’s defensive coordinator.
As they get set to meet again Sunday when the Broncos travel to Philadelphia, where Fangio is the defensive coordinator, Payton reminded that their shared history goes back much further than serving on competing NFL staffs.
“He went to the same high school my father went to in Scranton, Pennsylvania,” Payton said. “So long before we ever met each other — I have a cousin that taught him sixth-grade math.”
It’s probably been a long time since Fangio, the former Broncos head coach, took a math class, but Payton said the 67-year-old is “one of those guys who’s always staged ahead of the curve.”
“You know you’re getting someone who is going to have a real good game plan that’s going to understand your strengths and weaknesses,” Payton continued. “You’re going to have to be on point with the details, and that’s one of his strengths — all the little things.
“There’s more to this game than just our offense versus the Eagles defense, but there’s a tremendous amount of respect on my part for him and what he’s accomplished.”
Not only that, but Payton said he tried to hire Fangio to be his defensive coordinator in Denver when Payton got the job here in early 2023. He interviewed several others, including Rex Ryan, before ultimately hiring Vance Joseph.
“Vic was supposed to be part of the plan, but then you guys scared him away,” Payton said at the NFL combine in February 2023, referring to the fact that Fangio had only been fired as the Broncos head coach two years previously.
“Do I think he would have been a great asset for us? Yes,” Payton said then of Fangio, who, like Payton, didn’t work for some of the 2022 season before latching on as a consultant with Philadelphia. “So we were planning in this year away that, if the right scenario came up, that we’d work together. I think this one was just a little unique because it wasn’t too long ago that he was here.
“Certainly, I tried to talk to him and tried to twist his arm.”
Instead, of course, Payton’s Broncos faced Fangio’s Dolphins in Week 3, and Joseph’s defense gave up 70 points and 726 total yards. Since that rocky start, Joseph has overseen one of the most successful defenses in the NFL.
So, too, has Fangio the past two seasons in Philadelphia.
Payton and Fangio have squared off against each other as playcallers six times since 2011.
They’ve split the six decisions, but Payton’s teams generally have racked up yards. His offenses in those games averaged 387.3 yards to go along with 25.5 points.
They’ve featured some weird games, not only the shellacking in South Florida, but also the 2020 COVID game when Fangio was the Broncos head coach and faced Payton’s Saints while all of his quarterbacks were ineligible because of protocol violations.
Current Broncos tight end Adam Trautman played in that game as a rookie for New Orleans and caught a pass for 8 yards. He also played in Denver’s blowout loss to Miami.
“From past experiences, it kind of feels similar to the Chargers in a way where it’s like, everyone is so disciplined,” Trautman said of facing a Fangio defense. “They’re in the right spots, they’re funneling the ball to the right area of the field to bring whoever has the ball down.
“It’s one of those teams that you have to just continuously go at, and they don’t break very easily. I don’t know what their statistics are this year, but I know last year they were arguably the best defense in the league, along with ours, obviously.
“It’ll be a great challenge for our offense.”