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Cornerback Bryce Callahan has joined the Broncos, and the reason for it is simple: Vic Fangio has become the head coach of the Broncos.

“There were a couple of teams involved in the second wave of free agency,” Callahan told reporters after signing with Denver. “The Broncos were always my top pick because of Fangio and [defensive coordinator] Ed [Donatell]. I felt comfortable in this system. I’ve been playing with them for a couple of years. I feel like I won’t have to be learning a whole new system. I can just get in and go. That’s kind of why I chose here. Denver is a nice place. I had some friends play for the Broncos and they had nothing but good things to say. It wasn’t really a hard decision.”

So what is it about Fangio?

“Coach Vic just knows how to call the right plays,” Callahan said. “I don’t know what it is, he has us in the right position. He really makes it easy for the defense. . . . You want to make plays for [him]. He calls the right plays at the right time. You just want to go out there and lay it on the line for him.”

That doesn’t mean Fangio has given up a sensible, old-school approach to football.

“Tackling is really important,” Callahan said. “Coach Vic harps on it. We watch a lot of tackling film during the season. If your secondary can’t tackle, then you’re not going to have a good run defense because there is nobody behind us. It’s very important for the secondary to tackle and Coach Vic makes that be known.”

Coach Vic now has a former pupil who can help the Broncos’ defense play more like the Bears’ defense did last year, which would be good for Coach Vic, Bryce Callahan, and everyone else in Denver.