Eagles’ infatuation, chase and wait for Vic Fangio was all worth it originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It was all worth it.
The Eagles’ infatuation with Vic Fangio, the long wait and the chase to get him to be their defensive coordinator has all paid off in 2024.
After a bit of a shaky start, the Eagles have the No. 1 defense in the NFL.
As they get ready to face a high-powered Rams offense on Sunday in LA, the Eagles have given up just 273.1 yards per game this season, the lowest of any team in the NFL.
Here’s a look at where the Eagles rank is some key defensive categories:
Yards per game: 273.1 (1st)
Passing yards per game: 173.2 (2nd)
Rushing yards per game: 99.9 (7th)
Points per game: 17.9 (6th)
EPA/play: -0.15 (4th)
EPA/pass: -0.17 (5th)
EPA/rush: -0.13 (5th)
For years, before the Eagles were able to land Fangio himself, they ran a version of his defense, first with Jonathan Gannon and then with Sean Desai. And there’s an alternate timeline where Fangio simply slides into that defensive coordinator chair after the 2022 season when Gannon left to be the head coach of the Cardinals.
That’s why the Eagles were so annoyed with that clumsy Gannon exit. Because they already had Fangio in their building as an advisor and he hasn’t tried to hide the fact that he would have stayed on as DC in the timing worked out better.
“I think that’s a fair assumption,” Fangio said back in May in his first press conference as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
Basically, Fangio had agreed to become the Dolphins’ DC and didn’t want to back out after accepting the job. So the Eagles ended up with a Fangio understudy in 2023 as Fangio spent one year with the Dolphins before a breakup after the season.
A couple years later and it’s clear why the Eagles wanted Fangio so badly in the first place.
What has Nick Sirianni learned about Fangio during his time with the veteran defensive coordinator?
“Yeah, just again, his tireless work ethic,” Sirianni said. “I think I’ve probably always, with him being as good of a coach as he’s been in this league for this long, I think I probably would have been able to guess that he works his butt off. But he’s always looking at tape, watching tape, looking for new ways to do things, better ways to do what he already does. And just really admire his work ethic and how he goes about work every single day.”
There’s no question that the Eagles had their struggles on defense early in the season but they have since fixed those issues. It actually makes sense that the Eagles started off slowly on defense in 2024. They were learning a new system and are relying on plenty of young and inexperienced players.
But watching this defense since the bye week has been fun. On a team with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert and a start-studded offensive line, the Eagles’ defense has unquestionably been the stronger unit.
Go figure.
Since the bye week, the Eagles have put together a six-game winning streak and the defense has given up a total of just 68 points — 11.3 per game. (The Eagles as a team have given up 83 points since the bye but the Browns scored a touchdown on special teams and the Jaguars scored a touchdown on defense.)
Here’s a look at some key defensive stats from this six-game winning streak:
Total points: 68 (11.3) — 1st in NFL
Total yards: 1,268 (211.3) — 1st in NFL
Passing yards: 784 (130.7) — 1st in NFL
Rushing yards: 484 (80.6) — 1st in NFL
Takeaways: 11 — 6th in NFL
Sirianni always talks about the explosive play battle. The Eagles define explosive plays as 16+ yards through the air and 10+ yards on the ground. It shouldn’t be a surprise to know that the Eagles’ defense is giving up fewer than any other team during this six-week stretch.
The Eagles have given up just 14 passes of 16+ yards in the last six weeks — the fewest in the NFL. And they’ve given up just 10 runs of 10+ yards — the second-fewest in the NFL.
What has made this stretch so impressive is that the Eagles are doing it with a relatively young cast of players. The average age of their starting 11 last Thursday against the Commanders was 25.3 years old and that’s with 33-year-old Darius Slay as an outlier. Seven of their 11 starters are 25 or younger.
So this is a good defense that is still young enough to expect it to get better.
But it’s also a young defense that seems to be getting along fine with its old-school coach.
There were some reports out of Miami that there was some tension between Fangio and his players, that his blunt approach rubbed some the wrong way. That has not been an issue in Philly.
“I think he’s consistent with everything,” Sirianni said on Oct. 23. “I don’t think there’s a lot of surprises once you make a mistake. I think guys respect the consistency. And that’s what you try to do as a coach. Not everybody might always like what’s being said, but I think everyone has to respect the consistency. And I think that’s what I admire about Vic.”
In addition to Fangio himself, an overlooked element is how many veterans Fangio stocked his staff with. Guys like DL coach Clint Hurtt, LB coach Bobby King and DB coach Christian Parker have seemingly made a huge difference too. The coaching at every level is better this season.
Of course, it starts with Fangio.
At his introductory press conference, the 66-year-old defensive coordinator said he expected this to be his last stop in the NFL. He seemed to like the full-circle aspect of coming back to where his pro coaching career began. And unlike when the Eagles had a top defense under Gannon, it’s not like Fangio is angling to pick up a head coaching gig somewhere.
He’s here simply to be the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. And he’s doing a damn good job of it.
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