February 03, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
The Eagles should hope to have Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator for as long as possible.
Vic Fangio came home, structured a defense that got the absolute most out of all 11 guys on the field, and then made all the calls as that defense dismantled a dynasty.
The Eagles won the Super Bowl just shy of a year ago, with probably the most dominant shutdown performance in team history, all orchestrated by the Dunmoe, Pa. native with the headset on in the box up top.
He lived a dream. As a defensive coordinator with a coaching history that spans decades and at numerous spots, you really can't go any higher than that.
So no wonder the 67-year-old has been contemplating retirement, as word has been circulating this past week. What left is there to prove?
Fangio will be back with the Eagles, though, for at least one more season, as our own Jimmy Kempski confirmed on Sunday after the organization persuaded him to stay – or, that is, he's expected to be back for at least one more.
But that the buzz of Fangio mulling retirement caused such a scare among fans, and even pushed the Eagles to go as far as checking in on previous team defensive coordinators Jim Schwartz and Jonathan Gannon – again, per Kempski – speaks volumes about Fangio's current indispensability to the team, and just as much, its own fragility.
Because the Philadelphia Eagles, as they are right now, need Vic Fangio way more than he needs them.
As was obvious for the last month of this past season, they were burning out down the stretch. Their offense was inept, their O-line was banged up and at a loss of its once elite strength, and some of their key playmakers regressed, while no one on the sideline – not Nick Sirianni, and not the since-fired Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator – could come up with anything to correct it.
But hardly any of the Eagles' 2025 downfall can be pinned on their defense.
A lot was asked of the Eagles' defense as the 2025 season wore on.
They often played down to the very last second because repeated three-and-outs forced them to. They outright stole games, like against Green Bay (a 10-7 win), Detroit (16-9), and Buffalo (13-12, with some luck).
Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean further ascended into All-Pro corners; Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, and even rookie Jihaad Campbell formed a blanketing and controlling linebacking corps that has easily been Philly's best group since the Jeremiah Trotter days; and even with clear weak points at CB2 and eventually safety, they were compensated for through the scheme and a front seven that found its footing and started getting to the quarterback more in the back half of the season.
A mostly young defense growing into itself had a huge part in that, but so did Fangio as the one to show his players how, and through maximizing all of his personnel's strengths as much as he could.
It's core to why the Eagles' defense shut everyone else down en route to the Super Bowl last year, and all thing considered, what really saved them from an implosion much closer to 2023's in this season, even though it still stalled out and ended with the Wild Card round all the same.
Fangio held the Eagles together through one side of the ball, while the other half was barely functional enough to get to the line of scrimmage and snap it in time.
The Eagles are trying to fix that now, turning to an on-the-rise but inexperienced Sean Mannion (who has never called plays) as the assistant coach to get Jalen Hurts and the Philly offense humming again.
But that process might take time, and maybe the first few weeks of next season, to realize, provided it even works. And without Fangio continuing to run what should be a still tough defense, there's no buffer, nor forgiveness in a city like Philadelphia.
The Eagles need Fangio with a headset on up in the box to even have a shot, way more than he needs them pushing further into his late 60s...
No wonder he's been mulling retirement.
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