The Philadelphia Eagles are adding Vic Fangio to their coaching staff as defensive coordinator after he "mutually parted ways" with the Miami Dolphins.

The move should be seen as a massive win for Nick Sirianni and Co. Listen, I was the first to harp on the Eagles head coach when he benched Sean Desai as defensive playcaller in favor of Matt Patricia. Such a decision was a huge overreaction and one that led me to question if Sirianni could find himself in the hot seat.

But let's give credit where credit is due: Fangio being added to this staff is exactly what the Eagles needed.

Fangio's style of defense has been replicated across the entire NFL as his two-high shells and disguises have forced explosive offenses to try to be patient. His units line up almost the exact same way down after down before the picture changes right at the snap. 

Philly couldn't go into 2024 without a big swing on the defensive side of the ball after wasting their talent like they did last season. While the front office still needs to improve the roster, this was never supposed to be one of the worst passing defenses in the league. 

Fangio will boost the Eagles' chances of reclaiming the NFC East

The Washington Commanders and the New York Giants are in rebuild mode and might take some big steps forward this offseason. But we all know when it comes to the Eagles' chances of winning the division in 2024, it's all about beating the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, adding Fangio will be huge for those matchups when the time comes. Firstly, it's only fair to point out that the Cowboys have had success against the Eagles defense for many years now, which is probably a reason why the front office is requesting an interview with Kellen Moore. 

Adding a defensive mastermind will only help change things up. In particular, Dak Prescott has struggled in previous outings versus Fangio, as I recently wrote for A to Z Sports Dallas: 

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.

"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.

Since Prescott's biggest strength as a quarterback is his mental processing, a coach who excels at avoiding showing signal-callers things to process in the first place is bound to give him issues. 

And if Philly can put the brakes on on the Cowboys offense, there's a good chance they can win those pivotal NFC East showdowns.

An important caveat for Vic Fangio

Every rose has its thorn and the same can be said for Fangio. As much as I love the decision for what it means from a scheme perspective, there are concerns about his way of coaching.

Per Fan Nation, Dolphins players were not really happy with their defensive coordinator and even told McDaniel about it, likely prompting the decision to let him go.

Players including Cam Smith and Jevon Holland took to social media to celebrate Fangio's departure with the latter even posting a video literally kicking rocks.

When the Dolphins played Dallas in Week 16, a frustrated Jalen Ramsey even sabotaged his own team by telling reporters the gameplan didn't call for him to shadow CeeDee Lamb, giving away a significant piece of intel before the game. 

The Eagles will need to be careful about this as a coach who doesn't keep his players happy can lead to even the best projects falling apart entirely. 

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni dodges Vic Fangio rumor

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