Former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has a new gig in the NFL and another team to add to his resume.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Fangio is set to become the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.
This deal came just one day after Fangio “parted ways” with the Miami Dolphins after spending the 2023 season on Mike McDaniel’s coaching staff.
While calling defensive plays in Miami, the Dolphins finished with the 22nd-ranked scoring defense, but 10th overall in total defense.
The 65-year-old was with the Eagles last season as a consultant helping as the team prepared to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 Super Bowl.
Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni, was considered to be on the hot seat after his team started off with a 10-1 record and finished the season 1-6 including a first-round playoff exit.
Sirianni was not fired, but instead he made changes to his coaching staff to try and get his squad back to the Super Bowl.
On January 21, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai after one season. Over the final six games of the season, Sirianni took play calling duties away from Desai and gave them to former New England Patriots defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia.
Desai was also a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2021, but was also let go after just one season as well.
Fangio Must Turn the Defense Around
In the 2022 season, the Eagles owned the eighth-ranked scoring defense that helped lead them to a Super Bowl. This season, the defense ranked 30th in the NFL in points allowed.
Overall, the Eagles gave up 25.2 points per game, but when Desai was the defensive play caller, Philadelphia was giving up 22.3 points per game.
When Patricia took over for the final seven games, the Eagles gave up 30.5 points per game.
Fangio is considered by many as one of the best defensive minds in NFL history.
In 1995, Fangio became the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and hasn’t looked back. He’s been a defensive coordinator for 23 years including the three years as the defensive play caller in Denver while being the head coach.
During his career as a play caller, Fangio’s defenses ranked in the top-10 of points allowed 10 times and he’s also owned 13 top-15 scoring defenses.
This season, the Eagles’ defense struggled finding ways to force turnovers to help their offense. Forcing just 18 turnovers was the 6th-least amount in the NFL.
In their first-round playoff loss, the Eagles gave up 32 points to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after they averaged just 20.5 points per game.
Fangio’s Time with the Broncos
In 2019, the Broncos moved on from head coach Vance Joseph after the team failed to reach the playoffs during his tenure and general manager, John Elway, decided to give Fangio his first ever head coaching job in the NFL.
After two seasons, Fangio’s Broncos won just 12 games and failed to win more than seven games.
Elway would step away from the general manager role with the expectations that Denver would be able to rebuild everything with a clean slate.
Instead, the Broncos’ organization decided to keep Fangio and allow him to be in the hiring process for a new general manager. This led to the Broncos hiring George Paton.
Paton praised Fangio and decided to not fire him after he was hired. The Broncos would finish the next season with a 7-10 record and Paton then fired Fangio ending his Broncos tenure with a 19-30 record.
In Fangio’s three seasons in Denver, his defenses ranked in the top-10 twice in points allowed including a top-three finish in 2021.
Fangio was replaced by Nathaniel Hackett as Denver’s head coach, but he was fired after 15 games with the Broncos.
