July 31, 2026

Seven takeaways from Vic Fangio's initial training camp press conference

Jihaad Campbell's days as an edge defender are over. He'll be a full-time linebacker.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Jimmy/for PhillyVoice

Eagles DC Vic Fangio

On Thursday, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke with reporters for the first time during 2026 training camp. As always, he did not shy away from answering questions honestly. Here are my seven biggest takeaways.

Jihaad Campbell's days as an edge defender are over

Fangio was asked if the experience Campbell got last season was valuable.

Fangio: "It was valuable. Some of it was [not] valuable too. If you remember, there were a few weeks there where we had to play him at outside linebacker because we ran out of guys. That set him back a little bit as an ILB."

Fangio was then asked if Campbell's days on the edge are over.

Fangio: "He may end up there on occasion, but as a full-time player, yes."

#JimmySays: Campbell showed legitimate promise as an off-ball linebacker, but he does not have much of a pass rush arsenal.

Jonathan Greenard is going to be out for a while

Fangio: "Obviously he's a veteran player, so he knows the league, knows how to play, but we're going to be asking him to do some different things that he hasn't had to do in his career. That's really what he's going to be missing with this time off. He's going to miss a good bit of camp."

#JimmySays: The Eagles wouldn't have put Greenard on the PUP list unless they thought there was at least some small chance he wouldn't be ready for the start of the season.

Also, the "different things" Fangio referred to that Greenard hasn't done? "Occasionally drop [into coverage] a little bit."

Pre-snap motion is the biggest offensive revolution the last few years

Fangio was asked what offensive trends he had to adapt to the last few years.

Fangio: "I don't think it's so much this past year, it's kind of been a few year evolution. The motion, all the various motions, is kind of the new fad. I wouldn't say new, it's been a few years, and it's kind of expanding itself. That to me is part of the new. That's the newness. Back in the 90s, late 90s, it was empty formations. Those are still here. All the various motions.

"It's twofold. One, they're trying to get a tell on the defense potentially. Two, they're trying to get you out of position a little bit hopefully. They're trying to disguise their final formation and their intentions. A whole lot of things, and some of it does do that. There's certain calls that we're in, or any defense is in, they could do cheetah flips with their motion. It isn't going to matter. There's other calls where it does cause a little problem."

#JimmySays: I don't know what a cheetah flip is, but I would like to see a team do cheetah flip motions.

Temper expectations for Uar Bernard

Fangio was asked what the plan is for Bernard.

"The 'PP Plan,' lots of patience and lots of persistence. The day he put on a helmet here was the first time he ever put on a helmet. He hasn’t had shoulder pads on yet. That would be a new experience for him. Everybody, including himself and us, needs to temper any expectations down. He's got a process to go through. Process, that's a bad word around here [jokingly]."

#JimmySays: I watched a little bit of Bernard with the developmental players during the Eagles' first day of practice, and, uh, he's got a long, loooong way to go.