Prior to signing a contract to become the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2023, Vic Fangio had spent time in 2022 as a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles on their way to a Super Bowl appearance.
While he definitely helped the team in preparation for the Kansas City Chiefs, and surely at other points throughout the campaign, not much is known about his time with Philadelphia.
Ahead of the Sunday night matchup between the Dolphins and Eagles, Philadelphia’s head coach, Nick Sirianni, shed some light on Fangio’s involvement last year and the type of impact it had.
“We didn’t give him all the secrets,” Sirianni said. “I asked him for his help. He was giving us information, and not us giving him information. Obviously, when he was around last year during the end of the season, that was a unique opportunity to have a guy help us look at some different things the way a defensive coach’s perspective on it. Then [Former Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Jonathan [Gannon] being able to bounce some things off of him and me being able to bounce some things off him as the head coach.
“So, I really value the relationship that I was able to develop with Coach Fangio. Great person. Great football mind. We know we’re going to have our hands full with any Vic Fangio-coached defense, which we have obviously this week… I’m hoping he’s a little distracted. But a really good person. Really good coach. Value the friendship that we have and the time that we spent together last year.”
Fangio, who grew up in Pennsylvania, echoed a similar sentiment on Thursday, saying “I was giving them more information than they were giving me. If there is any advantage it’s in their favor.”
Now, Miami’s defensive coordinator will have to come up with some new wrinkles and change a few of his looks to make things more difficult on the Eagles, as slowing down Jalen Hurts and company is the biggest thing standing in between the Dolphins and 7-1 start to the year.
