Can we tell you a secret? We aren't certain that Vic Fangio is the magic elixir to cure all of those defensive ills we saw from the Philadelphia Eagles last season. He's a legend. We get that. He's brilliant at what he does. We're certain of that, but believe iot or not, we're more confident in Kellen Moore's ability to fix the offense.
Now, don't read what hasn't been written. Don't hear what hasn't been said. When Kellen Moore arrived at Boise State in 2007 to play quarterback, Fangio had already been coaching in the NFL for 23 years. Vic has probably forgotten more about football than Kellen will ever know.
There are still other things at play here.
In a new-school NFL where coaches are seemingly afraid to offend their players, there are questions about how the old guy will blend with these young bucks. If you haven't heard, Coach arrives with a bit of a reputation (more on that later).
Speaking of secrets though it appears that we aren't the only ones who are keeping secrets. Vic's defensive scheme might be one we have been watching for a while, but recently we learned something that we were unaware of previously. He's been harboring a secret of his own that he hasn't shared with us.
Who knew Eagles DC Vic Fangio was an analytics fan? Who expects that he'll tell us when and how he uses them?
Coach Fangio turns 66 years young in August, but it appears the game hasn't passed him by. Before the Eagles' second training camp practice, he shared something we honestly didn't see coming.
He's an analytics fan. Naturally, the follow-up question to learning something like that is how he applies it in his scheme, but as you might expect, that led to a bit of coach talk.
No one should be shocked that he's being tight-lipped. Whatever he's doing has led to success and his defensive scheme being copied by former protégés and onlookers. We see his fingerprints all over the current NFL. That's another reason for some of our skepticism though. Who's consistently thrown off by a scheme they see so often?
Coach Fangio may have a few tricks up his sleeve, so we can rest easy tonight knowing that. It appears that things are fine in Eagles Land. Devin White, one of the recent offseason acquisitions, seems to be on board.
Don't get us wrong! Yes, we have concerns, but this is the most confident that we have been in an Eagles defensive coordinator in a while. Jonathan Gannon was better than some believed him to be. He was also, however, embarrassed during Super Bowl LVII, so he'll never be remembered in Philly positively.
He also ran a variation of Fangio's scheme.
Under J.G., the Eagles catapulted themselves to a record-setting ride on defense. The 2022-23 season concluded with the Birds coming within four points of hoisting a second Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Sean Desai tried to be less of a player's coach. That imploded quickly as reports surfaced about disconnects with players, forcing Philly to change defensive play callers during a playoff push. He was out after one season, and now, we turn the page.
Vic comes to town with mixed reviews. Some of his players in Miami were glad to see him go, but perhaps he'll bring a wrinkle to this scheme that we didn't see with Gannon.
Here's another theory as we end this on a high note. Maybe it's better to employ the architect than the guys following the blueprint. The best part of all this is his defense appears to be buying in.
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