Now, Vic Fangio enters this season as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator. He now looks to produce a similar kind of success as he did in the NFL. Fangio features four decades of coaching at every level. He replaces one of the league’s toughest taskmasters—Brian Flores—on a defense that’s had its share of turnover this offseason. The Philadelphia Eagles are preparing to open their regular season against the Dallas Cowboys on September 4. In addition, Fangio needs to figure out the best way to integrate the new talent to the team while reenergizing their defensive approach.
Fangio’s impressive pedigree includes coaching players that went on to win multiple Hall-of-Fame MVPs as well Super Bowl MVPs. When combined with his incredible ability to cultivate talent. In his prior stops, he not only developed players but molded them into difference makers. On the future Eagles roster, too — he’ll be working hand-in-hand with rookie corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. With both players slated to start right away, they will have their eyes on immediate impact.
The Eagles’ defense is in a bit of a transition after the offseason, requiring more of an emphasis on everyone pulling their weight. Meanwhile, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Dean are working to recover from late-season knee injuries. This provides a third opportunity for others to take the lead and fill the voids. Fangio will expect the same type of production from one-year signees Adoree’ Jackson, Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari.
Kelee Ringo, Sydney Brown, and Moro Ojomo have to take their play to another level. By doing so, they’ll prove invaluable and earn their place among the new-look defense. Jihaad Campbell, Andrew Mukuba, and Ty Robinson are fighting the infamous rookie learning curve. This transition to the NFL can be challenging in its own right.
Fangio told us that growth is important in his room. He emphasized that other players need to elevate their performance to a higher level. He stated, “Some of those guys in that second list have to become like those guys in the first list, and I don’t know how that’s going to turn out, but I look at us really basically the same one year to the next.”
As Fangio steps back into control, he’s already earned the respect of players who know he’s the best in the business. Eagles rookie Nolan Smith Jr. Fangio was due for serious praise for his coaching background. He’s like, I don’t think Coach Vic realizes it, but when he was coaching some of my favorite players of all time. He continued, “Coach Vic, watching him and how he molded those guys, it’s nothing for me to listen to him, to be coachable. Are you crazy? He coached guys that surpassed in the league, Super Bowl MVPs. And he’ll never talk about none of that, but you feel it.”
It will be tough to hide the Eagles’ defense from extreme pressure, considering Fangio will be guiding so much talent. This unit’s success, or lack thereof, will have the biggest influence on the team’s overall success. Every win counts for them, but they are trying to stay within playoff striking distance.
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