Say what he would, no one quite believed John Fox that the Denver Broncos, the team that excused him from their head-coach position, represented just another team on the schedule.
For Vic Fangio, the San Francisco 49ers weren’t the team that dismissed him as head coach. They were the team that never even gave him the chance after years of experience and major success as defensive coordinator.
Starting in 2011, Fangio took a doormat 49ers defense into a perennial spot among the NFL’s elite. Yet when Jim Harbaugh was ousted as 49ers head coach, Fangio was given only what was considered a perfunctory courtesy interview for the top job, then watched it go to Jim Tomsula, Fangio’s defensive line coach.
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[MAIOCCO: Bears' top assistants could have joined forces with 49ers]
Sources said that Fangio and Tomsula did not get along especially well, and that Fangio was unhappy at being passed over for Tomsula.
"That's their decision and their choice," Fangio said on Wednesday. "I always accepted it's their decision and their team."
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