Old school defensive coordinator Vic Fangio meets new school Eagles;

Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterAug 29, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

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PHILADELPHIA — Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes to show his players reels of big hits from decades past — body blows from guys like Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who played with a level of physicality and abandon that has largely been legislated out of today’s game.

“He showed some clips from way back in the day when there was no targeting — I think they still had the single-bar facemask, where dudes are just killing each other,” rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean said with a smile. “It almost looks like there’s no rules out there. He was just trying to show us how to play physical as a defense.”

“It’s just to get guys pumped up and say we can still play defense,” edge rusher Nolan Smith added. “He’s an old school guy.”

Old school is the term just about everybody asked about Fangio uses to describe him. There’s another two-word phrase that works, too, courtesy of defensive tackle Jordan Davis: “No bulls—.” He is direct and he is gruff and he has iron-clad views that have been forged over 40 years as a professional coach that don’t always sync with modern day sensibilities.

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Fangio is also the architect of one of the most imitated defenses in all of football — a system that majors in two-high safety looks and emphasizes pre-snap disguise and limiting explosive plays. Fangio, 66, has overseen top-tier defenses in Denver (where he served as head coach for three seasons), Chicago and Carolina, to name a few, and is now serving as defensive coordinator for his seventh NFL franchise.

That level of clout and conviction could be just what the doctor ordered for an Eagles team coming off a dismal defensive season that lacked direction (they changed defensive playcallers late in the year, sending the operation into a full tailspin) and player buy-in. After employing multiple coordinators to run a version of Fangio’s scheme in recent years, they now have the original.

“We’re just excited to play in this scheme,” Davis said. “Moving a lot more, we have a lot more opportunities to make plays. That’s not to knock any credit of the past coordinators but it’s just a breath of fresh air for the defensive line.”

And beyond.

Given his level of defensive expertise, the floor has been raised significantly on a unit that finished 30th in points allowed (25.2) in 2023.

But there’s also a combustible element to this pairing. The throwback coach has been inserted into a progressive operation, where sports science has led to less on-field preparation time and analytics shapes decision-making and game-planning. Fangio has already pushed back on both fronts to varying degrees in his public remarks. He has strong views on personnel and isn’t afraid to share them — views that aren’t always aligned with the front office.

His approach can ruffle feathers, as seen during his one-year stint with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, which ended with some players expressing relief over his departure.

It makes this upcoming season a bit of a chemistry experiment: the mixing of the old and new schools could create a nice yin-yang balance that leads to heightened success, or it could generate enough friction to heat up an already fragile ecosystem.

THE FANGIO-EAGLES pairing nearly happened a year earlier.

Fangio served as a consultant for the Eagles in 2022 when Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl LVII, and was the front office’s clear choice to replace Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator should Gannon land a head coaching job. But by the time the Eagles knew Gannon was taking the Arizona Cardinals job, Fangio had already accepted the Dolphins gig. Fangio, who is from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and has family in the area, including his mother, has since conceded that he would have remained in Philadelphia if the timing was different. “I felt like, even though he was our coach, he wanted to be somewhere else,” Miami safety Jevon Holland said during an interview with The Pivot. “Even though he was teaching us and we were learning his defense, we were under him and his pupils and whatnot, we weren’t necessarily where he wanted to be at.”

When the Eagles hired him in January to replace Sean Desai, it represented a full-circle moment for Fangio.

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“It was exactly 40 years ago when I started my pro coaching career across the street at Veterans Stadium [where he served as defensive assistant for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars], and I thought it would be cool to hopefully end it here,” he said. His unvarnished speaking style was evident during that introductory news conference when asked how players have changed over the course of those 40 years. “What’s changed is the people around them. People are not expecting as much out of players as we used to expect,” he said. “You guys hear in the NBA, load management. I’ve talked to coaches from other sports that I know, and it drives them crazy. The players are willing to work. Never had an issue with that. And they’re still willing to work. But we as the so-called adults in the room need to push them.”

Fangio suggested that he, in turn, pushed for more time on the field for his players this offseason. It appears those efforts bore fruit. Most of the projected defensive starters saw action during the preseason even though the offensive starters did not. And training camp practices were noticeably longer than in seasons past under coach Nick Sirianni as the Eagles, who have been on the extreme end when it comes to limiting practice time and contact, continue their search for the right balance between keeping players healthy and having them sharp for the start of the regular season.

Fangio’s straight-shooting style continued through the summer. He’s been blunt in his assessment of players, including when he suggested early in camp that edge rusher Bryce Huff, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract in free agency to counteract the eventual departure of Haason Reddick, still had work to do to become a three-down player.

Fangio said he “loves” analytics — a cornerstone of the Eagles’ operation — but added that he believes “analytics people miss the boat a little bit on what’s important. But I’m not going to tell them what’s important. I do it myself.” He said he has his own formula that he doesn’t share with anybody, including coaching protégés.

FANGIO HAS BEEN point blank with his takes behind the scenes on personnel, a team source said, which has been largely welcomed. One thing that’s become apparent is Fangio values linebackers in the “highest regard,” the source said, whereas the Eagles have routinely been near the bottom of the league in money spent on the off-ball linebacker position in recent seasons.

“Every defense in the NFL relies on high level production from the ILBs, especially with the way the game is being played now,” said Fangio, who has coached a number of standout linebackers over the years, including Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman and Lewis.

“ILB used to be a position where you somewhat could overachieve and be a tough guy, but when the fullback disappeared and he’s been replaced by a third wideout or second tight end that’s a good receiver, the game is played in space more. But yet they still run the ball a good deal. So, the ILB position has become a more demanding position in this last decade or so. It’s hard to play good defense without good ILB play. These guys are working hard to get to that level.”

His candor carries over to the film room with players.

“He’ll call you out in front of the team, tell you it’s not good enough or it’s piss poor,” linebacker Devin White said. “He also praises people when they’re doing technique the right way. He’s not just a drag-you-through-the-mud type of coach. He’ll pull you up when you’re doing something good.”

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s approach can ruffle feathers, as seen during his one-year stint with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, which ended with some players expressing relief over his departure. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

THE NOISE THAT followed Fangio’s departure from Miami adds to the intrigue as he takes the reins in Philly.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents a number of Dolphins players, said of Fangio after his depature: “There are quite a few players on the team that didn’t necessarily get along with Fangio. It wasn’t a great relationship with many of the players. There were some guys that loved him but there was quite a few that didn’t.”

Cornerback Cam Smith, who didn’t start in any games as a rookie, posted an unlocked padlock emoji to social media upon Fangio’s departure. On the same day, Holland posted a video of someone kicking rocks.

“I didn’t see that at all, really,” Fangio said in May of not getting along with players. “Anything we do, whether there, here, or anywhere else I’ve been, is what we think is the best for the team and best for the defense, specifically, to stop somebody. Wherever that falls, that’s where it falls.”

Even with not everyone seeing eye-to-eye, a Miami defense that dealt with its share of injuries finished 10th in yards allowed (318.3 ypg) and tied for seventh in takeaways (27) while ranking 22nd in points allowed (23 ppg).

A Dolphins team source described Fangio as not a good culture fit in Miami’s player-friendly environment cultivated by head coach Mike McDaniel. There was more of a focus on what has worked in his system over the years than figuring out how to make each individual player better, the source said, adding that the dynamic between Fangio and the younger players on the team in Philly will be worth monitoring.

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Eagles pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Christian Parker offered a different perspective, saying: “I always thought Vic’s always done a really good job of whatever defenses he’s calling, whatever we’re going to feature, they’re focused on the players that we have … He’s going to call the game and build the playbook towards the talent we have here.”

But with Fangio, as it is with other old-school coaches around the league, “there’s a lot more non-negotiables,” according to defensive line coach Clint Hurtt.

“Today, a lot of the situations with these younger players and younger coaches, there is a lot of negotiating with players to get them to do what you want them to do. I’m cut from the same cloth [as Fangio]. I talk to the guys about that: When I was in high school, you had to ask permission to go get water,” Hurtt said.

“[The key is to] be direct and be straightforward with what your expectations are for the player. At the same time, just as hard as you coach them on the details of not being right, you have to praise them when they’re doing well, too. If you sit there and beat somebody up mentally all day long, eventually you are going to lose that person.”

To this point, Sirianni said, Fangio has been hitting the right notes.

“I think our guys really like Vic and how direct and honest he is,” Sirianni said. “You guys have talked to him, there’s not a lot of fluff there. He’s going to tell our guys when it’s right. He’s going to tell our guys when it’s wrong. And he’s going to help our guys get better.

“That’s the start of any relationship with a coach and a player. It really is. And that’s particularly the one there with Vic is they know that coach is going to put him in the right spots and he’s going to help them get better, and that’s how the relationship can grow.”

Dolphins reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this story.

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