Kiszla: Why would Aaron Rodgers leave one of NFL’s best teams for the broken-down Broncos? – The Denver Post

Please give me one good reason why Aaron Rodgers, who currently works for a team favored to win the NFL championship, would want to join the Broncos.

That his fiancée likes Colorado is flattering, but it probably isn’t a compelling answer for a quarterback who can afford to jump on a private jet whenever the mood strikes.

Or maybe Rodgers could take Melvin Gordon at his word that Denver, doomed to finish last in the AFC West, is actually “a Super Bowl team.”

No offense, Mr. Gordon. But casting the Broncos as a Super Bowl team must be your idea of a joke. And not a very funny one at that.

Of course, we’re at the silly part of the NFL season for a bad football team, when it’s all over except for Vic Fangio and team apologists making a case for him to keep his job as coach.

I asked Fangio for the most compelling reasons he should return for a fourth season, despite his 19-29 record, including 5-12 against teams in the division.

“I do believe this team has made progress,” Fangio said Wednesday.

Has a once-proud NFL franchise fallen so far that a last-place finish can now be considered a sign of progress in Denver?

“You know, we got it to 6-5. We lost three tough games against teams that are going to make the playoffs,” Fangio said. ” A play here and there, a better call, here and there, and maybe we get over the hump there and we’re still in the hunt now.”

With the playoffs within reach, the Broncos have lost four of their past five games. And there are legit excuses for the tailspin. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t played a down since suffering a concussion during a painfully close loss against Cincinnati. The Broncos got bit hard by COVID-19, which left them painfully short-handed for a road trip to Los Angeles.

But here’s the bottom line: As push came to shove for the final playoff spot in the AFC, Las Vegas found a way to win three straight close games, including a 17-13 victory against Denver, by a total of nine points.

And the team coached by Fangio? It flopped.

Yes, Uncle Vic knows defense. Through 16 games, this Denver team has surrendered 294 points, two fewer points than the revered defense of 2015 that led the Broncos to victory in Super Bowl 50.

And if Fangio were only the defensive coordinator, he might be as revered in Colorado as Wade Phillips. But a wretched special teams unit and an offense that can be generously described as ineffective also are ultimately Fangio’s responsibility.

The Broncos tried to slip in through the back door of the tournament field with a 10-7 record by winning games 20-17. The plan not only failed, it put paying customers to sleep.

Bring Fangio back and fans would revolt.

“I’m not one to campaign publicly,” Fangio said.

Although yet to receive any assurance from general manager George Paton or team president Joe Ellis that he will return to the Denver sideline next season, Fangio would rather make the strongest case for his retention behind closed doors.

“I’d really rather have those discussions with George and Joe,” he said.

By all accounts, Fangio and Paton do get along famously, with their relationship built on a mutual appetite for the relentless, sunrise-to-sundown-and-beyond grind of building a winning football team.

But the Broncos need to work smarter, not harder. And they need a quarterback. Outside of the four glorious seasons when our dusty old cowtown was blessed by Peyton Manning, the team’s record since 2006 is 76-90.

Without a Hall of Fame quarterback, even Mike Shanahan couldn’t keep his job with the Broncos. And I know for a fact that Fangio leans hard into that argument. He has told me about his huge admiration for the coaching career of Joe Gibbs, who won championships with quarterbacks named Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien.

It’s no secret that Paton is fond of Fangio.

It’s also no secret that Paton is determined to acquire Rodgers, Russell Wilson or a quarterback who can return the Broncos to championship relevancy.

The NFL might be a fraternity, but first and foremost it’s a business.

And what’s best for the Broncos’ business is to move on from Fangio.

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