PHILADELPHIA — “Dang, why is he talking about this?”
That was the thought that entered Michael Carter II’s mind when he heard defensive coordinator Vic Fangio speak for the first time two months ago.
Carter, the cornerback acquired by the Eagles from the Jets in late October, had listened to the basics countless times and was bored of them.
Fangio spent a lot of time reviewing what to do on first and second down, in late-game situations and when losing. But Carter didn’t see the point at first.
“Every base is covered and that’s kind of refreshing,” Carter told NJ Advance Media. “From the backend to the D-line, these tendencies, some stuff that may seem redundant. But at the beginning of every game, you’re like, ‘Dang, this dude really crossed every I.’”
While this thoroughness makes Fangio special, he hasn’t always been embraced everywhere.
Fangio lasted one season as the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2023. Players’ disgust with his old-school, disciplined approach — which included long meetings — were revealed publicly and anonymously.
But Fangio has rebounded with the Eagles, whom he joined a year later, helping them win their second Super Bowl last February behind the league’s best defense.
And although Fangio has evolved, he has always been demanding at his core.
“I can’t think of many coordinators like him,” said Brendon Ayanbadejo, a former Ravens linebacker who played under Fangio and still speaks with him regularly. “Every handful of years, he’s been around (a new team), right? It’s a blessing and curse. He’s a bounty hunter for hire. Just brings you instant defense.”
With Philadelphia’s offense ranking near the bottom in nearly every category this season, the defense will need to carry them in the playoffs.
This Sunday, the Eagles play the 49ers in the wild-card round at Lincoln Financial Field. It’s another game in which Fangio can prove that he is one of the best defensive coordinators in NFL history. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, an offensive genius, is 3-1 against him.
“He’s got a 30-year catalog, and offensive coordinators are always flipping and changing and trying to figure out what he’s doing,” Ayanbadejo said. “Well, they have a lot of time in history where they can go back and look. Whether they figure it out or not, that’s a different story.”
‘He’s painting a picture’
Fangio, 67, is difficult to beat because of his many masteries. It starts with his ability to simplify assignments, which helps the defense play quickly without overthinking.
“It’s like he’s painting a picture of how we are going to go about this and who’s going to do what and how everything marries together to play great team defense,” said former NFL cornerback Doran Grant, who played under Fangio with the Bears. “Rushing and coverage. Coverage and rush. Disguises and all of that type of stuff. Rotation, post-snap, like those types of things. It’s an art form.”
In the meeting room, Fangio provides his players with dense information. That includes handing out 20 to 30 pages of notes for each game plan, covering analytics, play designs and film observations.
“When you consider the 20,000 meetings we have throughout the week, every meeting is full,” Eagles rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson said. “Dude could probably write a book on every team with how much information he gets.”
In meetings, Fangio corrects small details — like when a defensive tackle lines up too far outside his 2-technique alignment or reminding cornerbacks to bend their knees.
“He’s definitely one of the best I’ve been around,” Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett said. “He’s a scientist in there.”
The average age of Philadelphia’s defense is 24, with many of its top starters in their second or third season. Typically, young defenses struggle because the learning curve from college is steep.
But thanks to Fangio’s hands-on approach, many of Philadelphia’s young players have developed quickly — most notably second-year Pro Bowl cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.
“Just knowing different situations and tendencies helps with anticipation,” Carter said of the advantage Fangio provides. “You know when you can take your shots and when you can’t, or just to be a little bit more reserved and things like that. Just upping that ability to just anticipate and just go and trust yourself.”
‘Mental capacity’
The Eagles have stars on defense, but even talented players can underperform when play-calling becomes an issue.
Look no further than Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who does not always scheme to his players’ strengths. As a result, the Eagles rank 24th in total offense, 23rd in passing, 18th in rushing and 19th in scoring. What was once a strength during last year’s Super Bowl run has grown into a mystery this season.
Fangio has the opposite effect. He maximizes each player’s skill set, and as a result, the Eagles rank 13th in total defense, eighth in passing and fifth in scoring.
“It requires a lot from like a mental capacity,” Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo said about Fangio’s scheme. “But he puts you in a lot of great positions to make plays. Whether it’s picking on a run-game stunt for JD (Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis) or a movement that gets you a TFL, he helps out a lot.”
The No. 1 rule to a Fangio defense is that each position understands what the other is doing on every assignment, Ayanbadejo said. Then, once everyone is on the same page, that’s when Fangio “manipulates things a bit.”
“I think a lot of coordinators sometimes try to do too much and put their team in the perfect position every single play, said Eagles edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, a former Dolphins player who admires Fangio. ”But Vic has a lot of regard and respect for us, so he knows that he can basically just call any defense and go out there and handle business.”
Fangio knows when to make a call and when to hold back. He doesn’t waste his best calls just for the sake of using them; each one serves a purpose.
“Sometimes it just seems like he has the perfect play call,” Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young said. “Just so happens that someone runs a boot (leg) and we run a pressure that’s running right into the boot. That’s something we practice all the time.
“Then, you will have calls that you go over in practice for maybe a month or two months, and he doesn’t call them. And then you get in the game, he calls them, and then it’s a TFL. It’s just stuff like that, man, that you see with Vic that is just really impressive.”
Defense wins championships
Two weeks ago, Fangio’s defense made two consecutive goal-line stops to beat the Buffalo Bills.
That calmness and bend-not-break attitude reflected the personality of their even-keeled defensive coordinator. Fangio may be tough, but he doesn’t yell or curse out his players.
“He’s just observant, Young said. “If he sees the whole defense and notices something he doesn’t like (in practice), he’s gonna make us run the play over again. It doesn’t matter if it takes two times. We’ll keep re-running the play if it’s not to his liking.”
Afterward, Fangio will crack a joke to lighten the mood, but he quickly turns serious again.
“It happened yesterday where I crossed the block that I wasn’t supposed to cross,” Young said. “He said, ‘Hey, you got to do this’. And I was like, ‘I knew I got to do it’. And we kind of move on. He has trust in everybody who’s on the field. If he corrects something, then it’s not going to happen again.”
Jackson appreciates Fangio’s humble nature. He’s not power-hungry or full of himself and doesn’t care about getting credit. He delegates and trusts his assistants to run their meetings and to get his message across.
“He lets everybody get their shine and gives everybody their praises,” Jackson said. “It’s a testament to him of not letting ego and pride get in the way, but also his counterparts to be able to understand that he doesn’t see himself as what everybody else may see or may think.”
Before Fangio arrived, the Eagles were an offensive team. Now, it could be led by their defense for many years, thanks to his role in drafting and developing the Eagles’ next stars.
“It’s like how (former Bulls and Lakers coach) Phil Jackson ran the triangle offense in the NBA — Vic knows his personnel,” Ayanbadejo said.
Thanks to that knowledge and connection, Fangio has been the centerpiece of the Eagles’ 11-6 season and is the primary reason they could beat the 49ers this weekend and realistically make another Super Bowl run.
“When s—- hits the fan and things are not going as good,” Jackson said about the moments where Fangio and his staff have impressed him the most. “We lost three games in a row at one point, but nothing changed internally. You saw no dip or fall (in energy).”
