The moment the notification hit my phone, I thought "the Dallas Cowboys should hire him if Dan Quinn leaves for a head coaching job!"

I'm talking about defensive mastermind Vic Fangio, who kidnapped the NFL news cycle after word broke that he was "mutually parting ways" with the Miami Dolphins, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The problem is that Fangio bid the Dolphins farewell because he seems to already have a destination in mind. And boy, oh boy, it couldn't be a less favorable one for the Cowboys: Fangio is expected to be the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, "Miami is allowing Fangio to leave to be closer to his family in Pennsylvania."

That means the Cowboys are trending toward facing Fangio twice a year against the team they've been fighting for the NFC East neck-to-neck over the last few years.

There's no question the Eagles have talent on their defense but coaching problems led to a very overwhelming year for them. So much so that Nick Sirianni "benched" Sean Desai in favor of Matt Patricia midway through the season. Now they're trending toward landing a big-name coach with tons of experience and a great resume. 

Fangio's style of defense – one that uses two-high shells and tons of safety rotation at the snap – has taken a stronghold of the NFL, with most teams incorporating key aspects of his philosophy to counter the rising passing offenses in the league. If you're wondering why guys like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have had less explosive days than they did a few years ago, the answer is mostly Fangio. 

Dak Prescott, specifically, has mightily struggled against Fangio-coached defenses. In 2021, the Denver Broncos pummeled Prescott's offense in a 30-16 win where Dallas was held scoreless for three quarters of football. Prescott finished with one interception in a coverage disguised play and took two sacks for a 73.9 rating. At halftime, however, Prescott's rating sat at 54.2 with the game 16-0. 

More recently, in 2023, despite a couple of very heroic drives from Prescott late in the game, Fangio had a great showing versus a seemingly high-powered Cowboys offense. He utilized many of his usual tricks to check mate Prescott and many times, it worked. 

Idk if it’s been said but CREDIT to Vic Fangio and the Dolphins defense after those first few drives.

They played that Fangio 6 so really well. It’s not an easy defense to execute or tear up.

I get why Dak credited him in the post game. Could’ve easily been baited into a pick

— Skywalker Steele⚡️ (@SkywalkerSteele) December 27, 2023

"One of the strengths of our defensive system is that at the snap, the quarterback has very minimal intel as to what’s about to happen," Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel explained to reporters after beating the Cowboys in 2023.

When you consider Prescott's biggest asset is his mental processing – and it is – it makes sense that a coach that minimizes things to actually process gives him trouble. 

These games have led to the NFL world perceiving Fangio as a coach who's got Prescott "figured out." Now, it appears the two of them will have plenty of opportunities to test that hypothesis. 

This would a significant win for the Eagles ahead of 2024 and 

Cowboys legend Troy Aikman shares strong Dak Prescott opinion

He didn’t hold back.