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Perhaps the most interesting moment from Thursday night’s game between the Broncos and Jets came when Broncos coach Vic Fangio rushed his team off the field, eschewing the traditional post-game handshake with Jets coach Adam Gase.
Fangio explained to reporters on Friday that all is well between the two coaches.
“[B]oth of us texted with each other after the game and we spoke today on the phone,” Fangio told reporters. “Adam and I are friends, have been and will continue to be. I was just trying to avoid the situation there at the end of the game from escalating into something out in the middle of the field. Unfortunately, by the time I decided to get everybody in I only had about 10 seconds to get it done and obviously couldn’t get everybody, but we did get a good bunch of our guys into our locker room quickly. I just didn’t want a situation to happen there that would be an embarrassment for the league and for the teams, so that’s what I was trying to avoid. I thought I was trying to do the prudent thing, actually I don’t think, I know I was. It had nothing to do with Adam. We’re in great shape, the both of us.”
Fangio is right. Even though a midfield brouhaha would have made for a compelling exclamation point to a game otherwise crying out for ellipses, it was wise for Fangio to do whatever he had to do to avoid it. And it’s smart and appropriate for Gase to recognize, as he did last night, that Fangio wasn’t snubbing Gase.
