After an underwhelming performance on the defensive side of things last season, the Philadelphia Eagles made a major change over the offseason by firing defensive coordinator Sean Desai and replacing him with veteran Vic Fangio.
Fangio has been a coach in the NFL for nearly 40 years, and before his time in the league he served as a defensive assistant on the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL. Now, back in Philadelphia, Fangio hopes to complete his career in the city where it started.
“It was exactly 40 years ago when I started my pro coaching career across the street at Veterans Stadium, and I thought it’d be cool to hopefully end it here,” Fangio said at his first press conference since taking over as coordinator. “So 40 years later, here I am.”
Fangio, who served as a consultant with the Eagles during the 2022 season, was a Philadelphia sports fan growing up in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, so it’s a full-circle moment for him to get to [potentially] close out his career with the team he grew up rooting for.
“It was a thrill for me to go to work at Veterans Stadium 40 years ago because I used to go to games there all the time,” Fangio said. “Now it’s a thrill to come back 40 years later and hopefully finish it out here.”
In his first season, Fangio will be tasked with improving an Eagles defense that allowed the second-most passing yards in the entire NFL last season.
New toys for Fangio
The Eagles added several new toys for Fangio over the offseason so far. In free agency, Philadelphia added linebackers Bryce Huff and Devin White, among others and they also brought back safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was a big factor on the defensive side of the ball when Philadelphia made it to the Super Bowl in 2023.
Then in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Eagles used their first two picks on top cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, both of whom could potentially play major minutes as rookies. The team also added the son of linebacking legend Jeremiah Trotter.
It will ultimately be up to Fangio to figure out the best ways to utilize all of these new players and restore Philadelphia’s defense to an elite level. If he’s able to do that, there’s a good chance that he’ll be able to finish out his storied career in the City of Brotherly Love.
