In today's NFL, teams generally hire offensive-minded head coaches, but the Denver Broncos decided to go in the opposite direction, hiring defensive guru Vic Fangio as their new skipper.
Broncos defensive lineman Derek Wolfe already loves what he is seeing from Fangio and is thrilled about Denver's new defense:
“Falling in love with the defense actually,” Wolfe told reporters on Thursday, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “Last time I felt this was when I was first introduced to Wade [Phillips’] defense. I almost feel like I was born to play this defense. I was telling my wife that last night. She was like, ‘You know, it’s your contract year, where are we going to be?’ This and that. I feel like I was born for this defense, so I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
Wolfe is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and registered 43 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and six passes defended.
The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Cincinnati, was originally selected by the Broncos in the second round (36th pick overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He had an impressive rookie year, appearing in all 16 contests and totaling 40 tackles and six sacks.
Since then, Wolfe has dealt with nagging injury issues, and from 2013 through 2017, he played just one full 16-game campaign and missed 16 contests overall.
The Broncos won just six games this past season and have missed the playoffs three years in a row.