Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio spent some time on Sunday at the team's training camp musing on the unknown possibilities of the past, as he mentioned he almost had the chance to coach Champ Bailey.
Bailey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, along with seven others including deceased Broncos team owner Pat Bowlen, and had teammates like Chris Harris Jr. attend the enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio, over the weekend.
Fangio, 60, was hired in the offseason by the Broncos to fill the vacant head-coaching position. Before his time with Denver, Fangio was the defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears from 2015-18. He's also spent time coaching the defensive side of the ball in the professional league with the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and other teams.
Here's what Fangio was thinking regarding coming in close contact with the now–Hall of Famer Bailey via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athlet:
“I almost had Champ (Bailey). When he came out (in 1999[‘s draft]), we had the fourth pick in the draft that year in Indianapolis and we were going to pick him, and then all of a sudden the day before the draft we traded Marshall Faulk, so we had to pick [running back] Edgerrin James then. But it was close to where I had Champ — which would have been nice.”
Fangio in 1999 was the Colts' defensive coordinator until 2001, leaving the franchise for the Texans in 2002.
Bailey, 41, is a revered figure in the secondary and spent 10 seasons in a Broncos uniform.
He finally was commemorated forever with a new bust revealed in Canton.
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