When former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon left after the Super Bowl loss in 2023, the fan base was left with Sean Desai and, later, Matt Patricia the following season, with horrendous results. Then Vic Fangio came to the rescue.
Fangio was one of the original targets that all Eagles fans wanted in 2023, but the Miami Dolphins swooped in and took him. When Philadelphia finally landed the great defensive coordinator, he turned the Eagles into the number one unit in the NFL in 2024.
Pro Football Network's Jacob Infante is giving Fangio his flowers in his rankings of all 32 defensive coordinators in the NFL. Fangio took the top spot—a fitting place for the best defense in football a season ago.
"The turnaround that Vic Fangio spearheaded as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles last season was remarkable. After finishing 30th in PFSN’s Defense+ metric in 2023, Fangio turned them around to the second-best ranking in 2024.
The Eagles finished second with just 17.8 points per game allowed last year, dominating with the second-lowest blitz rate in the league. Their talented defensive line is complemented by a strong secondary, which Fangio effectively utilizes through disguised coverages. He’s a defensive mastermind who played a massive role in their Super Bowl victory."
Fangio transformed this defense in just one year of work
Examining the numbers from 2023 to 2024 in the main defensive statistics, Fangio was able to improve the defense in four of the main five categories. The only area that saw a dip in 2024 was run defense, but that was by less than a yard per game.
Eagles Team Total Defense Pass Defense Run Defense Points Allowed Turnovers
2023 356.1 252.7 103.4 25.2 18
2024 278.4 174.2 104.2 17.8 26
So what changed? Eagles general manager Howie Roseman went with defensive players with the first three picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean became stars right away, and Jalyx Hunt is a breakout candidate in 2025 after a solid postseason performance.
Fangio's best work, though, came with linebacker Zack Baun, who was a backup in New Orleans before coming to Philadelphia. Now, Baun is a Pro Bowl and All-Pro linebacker with a new contract with the Eagles after establishing himself as one of the top five linebackers in the league.
Interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter saw his performance on the field take a significant leap forward. With only his sack stats dropping from 2023 to 2024, Carter had career-highs in every other category as he also became a Pro Bowler and All-Pro.
What has made Fangio successful is tapping into the potential of young players. These individuals are all under the age of 30 and are hitting the prime of their careers. Fangio is just ensuring that they play up to the standard that Eagles fans need them to be.
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Last year's most crucial offseason move by Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was bringing in Fangio and former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to turn things around. They both did their part with Fangio sticking around to do it all again in 2025.