What Impact Can Fangio Make In 2023? History Says a Big One
Vic Fangio's credentials and reputation have been well established by now, some three months after the Miami Dolphins hired him to become their new defensive coordinator.
But there's one aspect of his NFL resume that deserves more scrutiny: It's not just that Fangio has had success at every stop during his long career as a defensive coach, it's just how quickly he's been able to make an impact.
It's actually quite remarkable.
Staggering even.
Simply put, Fangio's arrival has meant a big jump for any defense he's joined during his eight stops in the NFL — not including his time with the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans, who he joined in each team's first season as an NFL franchise.
But at the other six stops, the jump after Fangio's arrival was massive.
How massive?
In his first year at linebackers coach for the Saints in 1986, defensive coordinator for the Colts in 1999, special assistant to the head coach/defensive assistant for the Ravens in 2006, defensive coordinator for the 49ers in 2011, defensive coordinator for the Bears in 2015 and head coach of the Broncos in 2019, each team's defense improved its ranking by 10.5 spots in both points allowed and total yards allowed.
Again, 10.5 spots!
THE BREAKDOWN ILLUSTRATING VIC FANGIO'S IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON A DEFENSE
So let's break it down:
New Orleans, 1986: The Saints went from being 22nd in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed to 7th and 14th, respectively.
Indianapolis, 1999: The Colts went from being 29nd in both points allowed and yards allowed to 17th and 15th, respectively.
Baltimore, 2006: The Ravens went from being 10th in points allowed and 5th in yards allowed to first in both categories.
San Francisco, 2011: The 49ers went from being 16th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed to 2nd and 4th, respectively.
Chicago, 2015: The Bears went from being 31st in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed to 20th and 14th, respectively.
Denver, 2019: The Broncos went from being 13th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed to 10th and 12th, respectively.
Rounding out the numbers, Fangio joined the teams that averaged rankings of 20th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed and those teams went to 9th in points allowed and 12th in yards allowed.
So, yeah, we can talk about the addition of Jalen Ramsey, we can talk about about Bradley Chubb from the start of the season, we can talk about Emmanuel Ogbah, Brandon Jones and Nik Needham being back from injury. But this right here is big if you want to be optimistic about the Dolphins defense in 2023.
The Dolphins were 24th in points allowed and 18th in yards allowed last season, so using the same average of Fangio's first year at those previous stops, the Dolphins would move to 9th and 12th, respectively.
The biggest jump that's happened in Fangio's first year as a defensive assistant or head coach came with the Colts, and that kind of jump could put the Dolphins in the top 10 in each category.
Regardless of how big the jump, it's almost a guarantee that there will be a jump because — paraphrasing Bill Parcells here — Fangio's record is what he is.
