Vic Fangio’s final stop — hopefully — was written in the stars decades ago.
The new Eagles defensive coordinator explained as much Thursday.
“Well, it was exactly 40 years ago when I started my pro coaching career across the street at Veterans Stadium, and I thought it would be cool to hopefully end it here,” Fangio said, via team transcript. “So, 40 years later, here I am.
“A lot of things change, and a lot of things don’t. One of the first things I’ve done, several times, I still go to the Philadium down on Packer [Avenue] for my meals, just like I did way back then. Phillies are still playing good. You guys didn’t clobber them for losing one game yesterday, did you? But no, just to come back, my kids live two hours south of here. My mother, who’s 97, lives two hours north of here. So, a lot of family considerations.
“I was a big Philly fan growing up in all sports. It was a thrill for me to go to work every day at Veterans Stadium 40 years ago because I used to go to games there all the time. And now it’s a good thrill to come back 40 years later and hopefully finish it out here.”
As he listed, it’s all right there in Philadelphia for Fangio. Family? Check. Roots? Check. Past fandom and favorite local eateries? Check.
In fact, it’s only a surprise such a pairing didn’t happen sooner. Fangio revealed he “basically” left Miami with the intent to join the Eagles, who were in need of a new defensive coordinator following a nightmarish one-year trial with Sean Desai, and eventually, Matt Patricia, who took play-calling over from Desai in mid-December.
When asked if Fangio — who had served as a consultant in 2022 before leaving for the Dolphins’ DC job — might have taken the Eagles’ job in 2023 if the timeline for coaching changes was different, Fangio simply replied “I think that’s a fair assumption.”
With hindsight being 20/20, it’s easy to see why head coach Nick Sirianni was confident the Eagles would have their defensive coordinator opening filled rather quickly in late January: They already had their man ready to sign on the dotted line.
The 65-year-old Fangio hopes he’ll wrap up his coaching career where it began back in 1984 when he joined the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars as a defensive assistant. If all goes according to plan, he’ll keep his job on Sirianni’s staff until he no longer wants it.
But that requires results, which Fangio delivered in Miami in the form of the NFL’s 10th-ranked unit, although he allegedly didn’t maintain the strongest relationships with his players. He was asked about the matter Thursday and downplayed it, instead pointing to a focus on results first and foremost.
“I didn’t see that at all, really,” Fangio said. “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.”
Folks are hoping Fangio can now figure out what went wrong under Desai and Patricia, piecing together a puzzle that wasn’t just dumped on the floor in Philadelphia, but tossed off a bridge. Fangio didn’t have one magic answer for the problems, but judging by his tone, believes he can fix it now that he’s in charge.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “Any time it goes bad like it did, usually everybody has their fingerprints on it. It’s not just one thing or one person.”
Philadelphia hired Fangio with the belief he can be the one person to rally every other individual around one common goal: returning to excellence on the defensive side of the ball. If that works out, expect a farewell presser for Fangio in the future in the same metropolitan area in which he cut his coaching teeth decades earlier.
