Philadelphia Eagles fans were given quite the shock on Sunday morning, as they found out that long-time defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was considering walking away from the game.
According to Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice, Fangio had informed the Eagles that he was retiring from coaching in the NFL. But Philadelphia’s brass reportedly convinced Fangio to stay on board for at least one more season, per Kempski.
Kempski also reported that the Philly Voice reached out to an Eagles spokesperson to clarify if Fangio is still the team’s defensive coordinator, and the team “declined to answer until further notice.” Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported that Fangio's return is "leaning to the positive recently," but noted that this could change again.
This is the last thing Philadelphia fans wanted to hear to start the offseason, as they’ve already watched Christian Parker depart and become the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator last month.
Nonetheless, if Fangio decided to retire, which is still uncertain, the Eagles reportedly kicked the tires on former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to see if he was willing to come back to Philadelphia.
Eagles Considered Bringing Back Jonathan Gannon for 2nd Stint
Thankfully, for Eagles fans, that plan will not come to fruition as Gannon ultimately became the new defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Eagles fans would’ve been upset if the team went back to Gannon after losing Fangio, especially after the former's time with the Arizona Cardinals didn't go as hoped.
Gannon’s lasting memory as Eagles defensive coordinator is not a good one. Fans vividly remember his unit not getting stops in the second half of Super Bowl 57, as the Eagles blew a 24-14 halftime lead.
Gannon got a ton of credit for what his unit was able to do in the regular season with 70 sacks, but they couldn’t register a single sack on Mahomes on the biggest of stages.
Meanwhile, when Fangio got his chance to play Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59, the Eagles’ defense made the superstar QB pay multiple times and made life tough for him.
With that being said, Eagles fans likely dodged a bullet with Fangio coming back, as running it back with Gannon 2.0 would’ve not been great for the vibes. While Gannon might’ve had better pieces at his disposal, his conservative playcalling would have gotten old real quick.
Kempski did mention that Philadelphia was also “at least planning” to check the availability of Jim Schwartz, who is currently the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator. Schwartz has done an excellent job with the Browns’ defense and was the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia at one point. He also would’ve been an upgrade over Gannon as well.