After watching the Philadelphia Eagles defense go from encouraging to alarming to down-right disastrous in 2023, Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni, and company wasted no time or resources addressing their issues in a major way, signing Vic Fangio, one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL today, to replace Sean Desai at defensive coordinator.
Through a summer of training camp and two preseason games, it's safe to say the swap has been a solid decision, as Fangio's defense has looked very good against the Patriots and Ravens and has earned rave reviews coming out of the NovaCare Center, but how does Sirianni feel about his new right-hand man? Does he like what Fangio brings to the table, or is he worried about his old-school approach rubbing young fans the wrong way?
While it is still the honeymoon phase of their relationship, Sirianni is a huge Fangio fan, as he appears to have connected to his players and implemented a scheme that plays to their strengths.
“Yeah, I think our guys really like [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] and how direct and honest he is. You guys have talked to him; there's not a lot of fluff there. He's going to tell our guys when it's right. He's going to tell our guys when it's wrong. And he's going to help our guys get better,” Sirianni told reporters on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, I've always said this: the relationship between the coach and the player has a chance to develop because the player sees that the coach can get them better.
“Let me kind of go a little deeper on that. Connection is so big, but we're not just buddies out here. The connection can take off — if we're not helping that player get better, then we're just their friends. So the connection of the player and the coach can take off when the player realizes that the coach can get them better.
“I think that's the start of any relationship with a coach and a player. It really is. And that's particularly the one there with Vic is they know that coach is going to put him in the right spots and he's going to help them get better, and that's how the relationship can grow.”
Widely considered the father of the current light box, two safety shell defense that has taken the NFL by storm over the past few years, with post-snap motion giving opposing quarterbacks fits since they can't read what the defense will do before the snap, it's fascinating to see the Philly finally land an old-school Pennsylvania guy who can give the team an elite foil to Kellen Moore's offense. And the best part? Fangio's defense is already making an impact in camp, as Sirianni noted in his media session.
Nick Sirianni reveals how he evaluates the Eagles' defense
Asked elsewhere in his media session about how he can evaluate his offensive line versus Fangio's defensive front in camp, Sirianni broke down his process, which is a little bit different than what you might expect.
“Yeah, good question. Yeah, we know we have the ability to rush the passer. You can look at it two different ways. You can look at it like, well, defense went in with the pass rush today, awesome job, defense, we've got great depth, like you said, or great pass rush,” Sirianni explained. “But then, really, as a coach, you're always right, wrong, or indifferent; you're going to look at the negative stuff first. To go back to the first part of the question, I think it's been a good back-and-forth. You asked about a certain day.
“As a coach, though, you're always going to be like, how do we fix the things that we screwed up. It's just what we do. It's why you think of the game you should have won more than you think about the games you did win sometimes, right, wrong, or indifferent, because it's our job to get things fixed and to duplicate the things we've done well.
“It goes back and forth. You're excited about the rush, but you're also like, “Hey, how do we get better at this particular thing,” but I think it's been a good back and forth all camp.”
You know, Sirianni really does make a good point, as you really don't want to see one side of the ball dominate the other too much because it could signal that something is very wrong on that side of the ball. By taking a tactical approach, Sirianni is consistently looking for ways to make the Eagles better on both sides of the ball, which can only spell good things for the future.
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