Presence Is Back In Philadelphia With New Eagles DC

Vic Fangio has brought his old-school, gruff style to the Eagles.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio meets with reporters on May 9, 2024. / John McMullen/Eagled Today

PHILADELPHIA - If presence was part of the issue with Sean Desai, that was officially buttoned up on Thursday at the NovaCare Complex when the former Eagles defensive coordinator’s mentor took the reins of the Philadelphia defense in public for the first time.

Vic Fangio is the adult in any room he enters.

The 65-year-old, long-time DC whose system is the default setting for modern NFL defense finally made it back to Philadelphia, 40 years after starting his professional coaching career with the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars back in 1984, and a year after he would have been back had the timing worked out with Jonathan Gannon’s move to become the head coach in Arizona.

Fangio’s short sojourn in Miami wasn’t a bad vacation with the South Florida weather mixed in with a contract that made him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history.

The Dolphins got better on defense with Fangio as expected. However, questions arose about his ability to connect with modern players after several Miami players voiced frustrations with the veteran coach’s gruff style.

“I respected him a lot. I’m not surprised he’s about to land in Philly because people behind closed doors were saying he was trying to get to Philly anyways. He’s a guru at defense, he’s just gotta learn how to fit in with his players,” Dolphins superstar Tyreek Hill said back in January.

Miami-based super agent Drew Rosenhaus also indicated there were problems.

“There were quite a few players on the team that didn’t necessarily get along with Fangio,” Rosenhaus said. “It wasn’t a great relationship with many of the players. There were some guys that loved him, but there were quite a few that didn’t. It definitely wasn’t a unanimous positive relationship.”

Fangio swatted away any intimations of a disconnect, citing the ultimate team goals for any of his defenses.

“Yeah, I didn’t see that at all,” Fangio said. “Anything we do, whether here, there or anywhere else I’ve been is what we think is the best for the team, the best for the defensive specifically to stop somebody. 

“Wherever that falls, that’s where it falls.”

Fangio isn’t the type of person who will get caught in a schoolyard back and forth but he did defend the modern player.

“I’m going to give you the Cliff note version of that. They really haven’t changed very much at all,” Fangio said when asked about how players differ now vs. when he started with Jim Mora Sr. 40 years ago. 

Fangio believes the change has been with the ecosystem around the players.

“What’s changed is the people around them,” he said. “People are not expecting as much out of players as we used to expect and these players will work and give you everything they’ve got within reason.”

It’s the coaching staff’s job to push to get the best out of players, no matter the era.

“It starts at an early age. When they’re in high school, college — a less-is-more type of thing and preserve your energy,” Fangio said. “You hear it in the NBA — load management. I talk to coaches from sports that I know and it drives them crazy. The players are willing to work. 

“I’ve 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.”

An adult with demonstrated success has entered the NovaCare Complex.

The interesting part will be to see how Fangio is received.

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