Weak on fashion, strong on scheme: Vic Fangio wins over Broncos star Von Miller

It appears Fangio’s down-to-earth, authentic personality is as endearing in Denver as it was at Halas Hall.

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Von Miller is on board with new coach Vic Fangio, who was the Bears’ defensive coordinator from 2015 through ‘18.

AP Photos

Vic Fangio came to the Broncos with four decades of experience, including four years as the mastermind of the Bears’ defense.

But that’s not what convinced Broncos star Von Miller that Fangio was a top-notch coach. It was the grungy gray sweatshirt and basic shoes.

“If you’ve got a coach that’s up on fashion — I haven’t seen a coach that’s up on fashion and been great,” Miller joked this week. “All the great coaches wear the same sweater and the same shoes and really put ball first. Those are the great coaches.

“If you’ve got a coach that’s up on fashion and all the new stuff, he’s gotta get his priorities in order. Coach Fangio is definitely not one of those coaches. He’s for real.”

It appears Fangio’s down-to-earth, authentic personality is as endearing in Denver as it was at Halas Hall.

“He’s like that hard geometry teacher that loves teaching, and as long as you pay attention, you’ll get it,” Miller said. “And with a dry sense of humor on top of that that everybody loves.”

Injury updates

The Bears had four players limited in practice, and all are questionable against the Broncos: tight end Trey Burton, nose tackle Eddie Goldman, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols and backup linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.

Burton and Goldman are the biggest concerns of the group. Coach Matt Nagy said he felt “better this week than I did last week at this time” about Burton’s chance of playing, and Goldman has enough of a shot that he will travel with the team to Denver on Saturday.

Kwiatkoski hurt his knee in practice, but Nagy said he is expected to be fine. Nichols is not believed to be injured and typically is not a full participant when the team practices indoors as it did Friday.

Special guests

New Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard and assistant Phil Martelli dropped by Halas Hall to check out practice and meet with Nagy on Friday.

Howard grew up on the South Side and is a longtime Bears fan. Nagy, who was a teenager during the Fab Five’s run, enjoyed chatting him up.

“What was so cool about what they did was that they did it their way,” Nagy said. “They didn’t care what other people thought. They were out of the box and they started something their own way. That’s neat. I think that’s pretty powerful. Seeing the baggy shorts, the black socks and the Nike shoes takes you back.”

Holtz’s big break

It has been a wild week for tight end J.P. Holtz.

He made his NFL debut Sunday, got waived by the Redskins on Tuesday, was on the verge of signing back with them as a practice-squad player Wednesday but got claimed and was in the Bears’ locker room Thursday morning.

“It’s been crazy, to say the least,” Holtz said. “But I’m happy I got the call to come to Chicago, and I couldn’t be happier to be here. I’m gonna put my head down and work.”

Holtz celebrated his son’s first birthday Wednesday in Washington, then his agent called with news that he would be joining the Bears.

He caught the first available flight, but storms in the Chicago area delayed his arrival until 3:30 a.m. He slept a few hours at a hotel, then headed to the facility for introductions.

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