Dolphins Still Taking Shots At Eagles' DC

PHILADELPHIA - Vic Fangio did what he needed to do when asked about some of the angst billowing from his former students in Miami regarding the veteran defensive coordinator’s coaching style.

“I didn't see that at all, really,” Fangio claimed when talking with Philadelphia-area reporters.

The rest of of us have because some of the Dolphins’ defenders made it very clear they did not enjoy Fangio’s approach once he left for Philadelphia, the destination Fangio would have been last season had the timing worked out with Jonathan Gannon’s exit to become the head coach in Arizona.

Talented safety Jevon Holland became a serial offender when he took another veiled shot at his former boss when asked about Miami’s new DC, Anthony Weaver, at the Dolphins’ OTA work.

“A complete 180,” Holland said of Weaver and his ability to relate to the players.

Weaver, 43, is 22 years younger than Fangio and spent seven years in the NFL as a defensive lineman after being drafted out of Notre Dame in the second round by Baltimore in 2002.

“It’s the fact that he’s a good person that makes a difference,” Holland said of Weaver.

By speaking that way, Holland is not only validating Weaver, who was John Harbaugh’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach the past two seasons with the Ravens before getting the Miami DC job, he’s also taking a backhanded slap at Fangio.

A 40-year professional coach, Fangio is a big boy and can handle criticism but it’s worth wondering if his hard-nosed style can be successful in what some have dubbed the “entitled generation.”

“Anything we do, whether there [in Miami], 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,” Fangio explained. “Wherever that falls, that's where it falls.”

And where it falls tends to be without kid gloves placing it there.

Holland and many players in the modern generation want a bigger voice.

"You can just feel he understands where we're coming from," Holland said of Weaver. "[He] wants to hear from us and our input on the defense and then is able to put that into how the defense is called and how the defense is taught. "

Fangio was asked point blank how much players have changed since he started his pro career back with the Philadelphia Stars as a Jim Mora Sr. assistant in 1984 to now as he returns to Broad and Pattison in South Philadelphia.

“That's a good question. We can stay here all day and answer that, but I'm going to give you the cliff-note version of that: They really haven't changed very much at all,” Fangio said. “What's changed is the people around them.”

Tough love is better than enabling in Fangio’s mind.

“People are not expecting as much out of players as we used to expect,” said Fangio. “These players will work and give you everything they've got within reason. It starts at an early age, when they're in high school, college, everybody -- less-is-more type of thing, preserve your energy.

“You guys here 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.”

Watching how the Eagles’ defenders respond to being pushed by the adult in the room will be one of the big storylines of the 2024 season.

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