In my last few months practicing law, I was also studying defenses. During the day I was arguing in a courtroom, and at night I was writing about the 2022 Minnesota Vikings. Around the same time, Vic Fangio was on a two-week contract consulting with the Philadelphia Eagles. Super Bowl 57 was near, and the signs pointed to Fangio taking over for Jonathan Gannon as the next Eagles defensive coordinator.
The signs also pointed to me silencing my little football habit as the year’s caseload was set to increase. Lucky for me, the signs were incorrect. My plan to just focus on the job I had went to school for was foiled by Ollie Connolly of The Read Optional:
Ollie and I were both excited that Fangio, a defensive mind whose name was spoken with reverence in corners of football twitter, was going to make his return to calling plays. The coach who put together defenses for longer than I had been alive was known nationally for how his unique fronts helped Bill Belichick deal with Sean McVay’s Rams in the 2018 Super Bowl, but he was also a famously private person. He is still known for keeping information close to the chest, but finding resources and studying his past film helped me put together pieces about Ed Donatell’s defense. Though Donatell had an unceremonious tenure in Minnesota, he was a long-time Fangio collaborator and was running a simplified version of the same defense.
After some time writing and answering questions posed by my wife about why I was going through images of a then 64-year-old Italian man from Dunmore, Pennsylvania (it was for the cover photo!), “The Book of Fangio” was published. It is a guide to understanding the philosophy, core concepts, scheme adjustments, and key nuances of Vic Fangio’s defense.
I read the piece back for the first time since publishing it while writing this article, and it is underdeveloped in a key aspect. While the piece shows an academic appreciation for the schemes used, it does not do enough to highlight the importance of the granular teaching that helps players reach the next level or the fact that the players themselves make the scheme possible. The vast majority of NFL defenses share the bones of Fangio’s calls in one form or another. Yet, the same exact call for one defense lives in a different universe than how it would play out for a Fangio defense. It is not just the scheme that makes Vic Fangio special. Others have used his call sheet. The difference is Fangio’s ability to teach specific techniques, adapt to the flow of a game, and tweak his approach based on his defense’s strengths.
The piece was meant to roll out in parts on Ollie’s Substack over the course of multiple weeks building off the initial foundation (sorry I didn’t get to finish the project, Ollie!), but another lucky DM halted the progress:
Eric Eager, then Vice President of Football Analytics for SumerSports and now Vice President of Football Analytics for the Carolina Panthers, was on the lookout for someone who could help out with some work on the team/client side of Sumer as well as on the more public facing side. Eager had a few names in mind and ran them by former SumerSports data scientist and first ballot Good Friend Hall of Famer Tej Seth, who threw my name in the mix.
Eric did some light scrolling through my twitter and found the Fangio article before sending it up to SumerSports President of Football Operations and former Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff. Dimitroff enjoyed it, gave Eric the thumbs up, and now I am here subjecting you to hundreds of self-aggrandizing words about a few paragraphs I typed 25 months ago and the good fortune that followed.
Learning about Vic Fangio’s defense helped me transition from the legal world to the sports media world. I have spent a total of 360 seconds talking to Vic Fangio (a bit more on that later), but his life’s work fueled my 180-degree career turn. Vic Fangio won’t be able to call defenses forever, and I will probably have to go back to practicing law at some point, but his work has meaning to me. That work now has even more meaning to the Philadelphia Eagles organization and the state of Pennsylvania.
Forgetting the 2023 Philadelphia Eagles
Less than 24 hours before Vic Fangio became the Eagles defensive coordinator, Fangio and the Miami Dolphins mutually agreed to part ways after just one season. The euphemism for being fired was kinder than what would trickle out across social media. Veiled messages highlighting a disconnect between Fangio and the players made the rounds as one team staffer told me the air felt unpleasant around Fangio.
Dolphins safety Jevon Holland later mentioned that it felt like Fangio just wanted to be elsewhere. When presented with the idea that he was on track to become the Eagles defensive coordinator after Jonathan Gannon’s departure, Fangio admitted it was possible. He technically opted to neither confirm nor deny the hypothetical, but his immediate return to Philadelphia hinted at the truth. Fangio was able to return to the team he rooted for as a child in the state where much of his family still resides. His work was cut out for him, though, given how the previous season went for the Eagles.
The 2023 Eagles started the year 10-1 with wins over the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Bills before losing six of seven games including a Wild Card matchup with the Buccaneers. The defense collapsed against the Drew Lock led Seahawks, the 4-12 Arizona Cardinals, and the eventual NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers.
Sean Desai, a former Fangio quality control coach, called the defense to start the season before giving way to Matt Patricia. The defense was disjointed on the field and ended the season 29th in EPA/play. Third down failures led to losses and whispers about a potential Nick Sirianni firing. Sirianni ended up retained as Howie Roseman made the call to hire Vic Fangio.
I was predictably ecstatic at the hire as I had done weekly Eagles film reviews with Sheil Kapadia on The Ringer’s Philly Special podcast for the entire season. Hope was on the way after the joy left our voices in discussing loss after loss. Instead of talking about a branch off the Fangio tree, we would be discussing the roots of it for the 2024 season.
Remembering the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles
Vic Fangio’s impact on the 2024 Eagles was felt before any player put on their shoulder pads. As ESPN’s Tim McManus detailed, the first day of organized team activities started with some Fangio table setting.
“It’s not your fault you don’t work hard. It’s not your fault, you just don’t know how. But that’s going to change now that I’m here.”
Though some could read it as a threat, Fangio’s promise is seen on his unit’s film. Former first-round pick Nolan Smith was playing deep into preseason games. Star defensive tackle Jalen Carter would hardly come off the field as the Eagles shifted away from the organization’s desire for a defensive line rotation.
After four weeks, the 2-2 Eagles went into the bye week with mixed results. Fangio’s surprise blitz designs and classic fronts helped create turnovers against the Green Bay Packers and stop the then-hot New Orleans Saints. The defense also was unable to prevent a last-minute drive by the Atlanta Falcons and was throttled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The bye week was a welcome one.
Coming out of the bye week, the Eagles made a key personnel change. Rookie Cooper DeJean would take over the nickel cornerback spot and help unlock the Fangio defense. Ideally, Fangio’s defense plays with four defensive lineman, two linebackers, and five defensive backs on almost every snap. Problems arise when offenses are able to attack that smaller grouping in the run game, as the Packers and Falcons were able to early in the year.
DeJean’s physicality was a positive force in the run game because he could play like a third linebacker. His instincts in zone coverage were on display in the preseason, in the middle of the season, and on Super Sunday.
Cooper DeJean has been an active dropper all the way back to his first preseason snaps against the Vikings. Almost had an interception roaming against the Bengals in the middle of the year, and finally got his first INT on the biggest stage pic.twitter.com/j9xtvOpcC6
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) February 10, 2025
After the early bye week, the Eagles won 16 of 17 games with the lone loss coming in a game where Jalen Hurts was injured on the second offensive drive of the game. The defensive line improved alongside Jalen Carter, and the defense stood in the spotlight during a Week 11 Thursday night clash with the Washington Commanders. Fangio’s defense put a dent in Jayden Daniels’ Rookie of the Year campaign as the Commanders put up just a 36th percentile offensive performance in the matchup. The game was sealed on a Reed Blankenship interception that highlighted a bit of a change for Vic Fangio.
Reed Blankenship slow playing the inside quarter in Cover 4. QB starts the wind up to throw while Blankenship is still dropping. Route combo would usually go right into the void in coverage, but Blankenship is able to redirect and cut it off for an interception pic.twitter.com/RNZvTs8WrS
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) November 15, 2024
Blankenship’s interception came from the inside safety position in Cover 4. While splitting the deep areas of the field into fourths on paper, the reality of the Fangio defense is not limited to dropping to a designated area on the field. Instead, assignments transform based on route concepts as players are asked to match routes given a predetermined set of rules. Where some other teams would have their safety gain ground to a vulnerable area of the field, Fangio’s safeties will match these deep out breakers in Cover 4 and make plays to end games.
After spending more time than I care to count watching years of Vic Fangio’s defense, I am comfortable saying Cover 4 is not his most common call. His unique approach to Cover 3 helped influence college defenses and his use of a deep safety covering one half of the field paired with Cover 4 to the opposite side of the field is par for the course in the league. This season, though, Fangio called his highest rate of Cover 4 based on the seasons made available by charting data providers.
Fangio Cover 4:
-QUADS in sub personnel
-4 in base
-clip below vs. 2×2 and 3×1 pic.twitter.com/uVPjBmyK3J— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) July 16, 2022
Cover 4 can leave outside cornerbacks on islands and underneath linebackers exposed. The Eagles have dealt with those concerns with an impressive season on the outside from rookie Quinyon Mitchell and another solid year from Darius Slay. Zack Baun’s unbelievable turnaround from fringe special teams player to dominant zone coverage linebacker and Nakobe Dean’s improvement also helped out Fangio’s coverage unit.
When I had the chance to talk to Fangio on Super Bowl opening night, the increased use of Cover 4 was on my mind. Fangio felt the swing in tendency was more of a game-to-game occurrence than a philosophical shift. Defensive backs coach Christian Parker also mentioned that their Cover 4 defense was better suited for the types of pass concepts that offenses were using. Cover 4 defenses can keep safeties aggressive in the run game and remove the stress of covering an outside vertical route all the way to the sideline when the safety is responsible for half of the field.
Fangio’s slight shift is the latest microevolution in a line of changes that goes back to dealing with run-heavy high school offenses in the ‘80s. His defenses look a bit different along all of his stops because his core principles are expressed through the changing players on roster. In Chicago, it was unique fronts to deal with outside zone runs. At the end of his time in Denver, it was more man coverage. In Philadelphia this season, it was Cover 4. That same Cover 4, sharpened across decades, was the foundation of Fangio’s Super Bowl 59 gameplan.
A Super Gameplan
The Super Bowl was Vic Fangio’s ideal way to play defense. Nickel personnel, not one single blitz (but a 38% pressure rate!), constricting zone coverage, and slamming the door shut
Fangio and the Eagles held Patrick Mahomes to his lowest EPA/dropback ever pic.twitter.com/1iX8dJV2KR
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) February 10, 2025
The Eagles dominance in Super Bowl 59 extended to how Vic Fangio called the game. Fangio leaned on Cover 4 as the correct answer to the Chiefs test and did not have to throw curveballs. The repeated call showed his trust in his players, how they have been taught all season long, and their ability to make small adjustments against different formations.
There were so many snaps in the Super Bowl where Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense did not have a dedicated double team on Travis Kelce but multiple players still had their eyes on Kelce based on how the routes played out pic.twitter.com/rrjaiN1lHf
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) February 10, 2025
Multiple snaps highlighted how versatile Fangio coverages can be as players matched routes, carried them to other players, and continued to find work in other areas of the field. Travis Kelce was swarmed by Eagles defenders, Zack Baun ate up space underneath, and Cooper DeJean’s constant movement led to his first NFL interception. Fangio did show some variance early with a man coverage call and a drop eight look, but the base layers of the defense won the day.
Adjustments like Box are a common way to approach an offense’s bunch formation. My favorite part of Cooper DeJean’s pick six is he created an extra level in the coverage based on how the offense was attacking. Compare that to how Box would play out in a different situation pic.twitter.com/b23Z3BwQG8
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) February 10, 2025
Fangio did not have any reason to send more than four rushers on a single snap because the Eagles defensive line was so dominant. The front slammed the door shut on any desire to run the ball as Philly’s physicality could be felt through the screen.
Nolan Smith has been an absolute nightmare for pulling linemen this season. Watch the knock back he gets on the right guard while Moro Ojomo makes the play pic.twitter.com/Egi5CEoxC5
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) February 10, 2025
The defensive line was conscious to rush through the offensive tackles instead of taking looping paths around the outside. This not only played into the edge rushers’ strengths, but it closed potential escape paths for Patrick Mahomes. Some stunts were mixed in as well as Josh Sweat tallied six pressures and 2.5 sacks while Nolan Smith had four pressures of his own. The interior defensive line wreaked havoc while the Chiefs prioritized limiting Jalen Carter on the way to four pressures a piece for Milton Williams and Moro Ojomo.
NEW ORLEANS — Vic Fangio lounged on a white couch with his girlfriend, Kathy Maruyama, nestled to his side in a quieter room across from the main stage at the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory party.
The architect of the defensive destruction of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had… pic.twitter.com/KRbVgUc2Al
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) February 11, 2025
Fangio’s 2024 grand finale was not showy. We won’t be making videos about some new coverage that was unveiled in New Orleans. Instead, it was the culmination of years of discipline, small adjustments, and large impact. The Super Bowl win is thanks to the players, the position coaches, and Fangio himself. When I concluded our conversation asking about what made him morph his defense to more match coverages way back when, Fangio detailed the way the passing game has changed and how he felt his defense needed to meet the moment. Fangio met his moment for the entire 2024 season, and he is now cemented as a Super Bowl champion.
