Vic Fangio

Coaching career

Early career

In 1975, Fangio played the defensive position of safety at Dunmore High School, outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania. While he did not play college football, Fangio took several coaching classes during his time as an undergraduate student at East Stroudsburg University. He graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education.

From 1979 to 1981, Fangio returned to his high school as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. In 1982, Fangio was the defensive coordinator at Milford Academy, and he became a defensive assistant coach for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League (USFL) two years later.

New Orleans Saints

Fangio began his NFL career with New Orleans as the team's linebackers coach from 1986 to 1994, going along with the head coach he worked for in the USFL, Jim E. Mora. He was the position coach for the famed "Dome Patrol", one of the greatest linebacker corps of all-time. During Fangio's nine seasons in New Orleans, the Saints ranked among the NFL's Top 5 in total defense (300.0 ypg – 5th), scoring defense (18.1 ppg – 4th), sacks (408 – 3rd) and takeaways (336 – T-3rd).

Carolina Panthers

Fangio joined the Carolina Panthers in 1995, the inaugural season for the Panthers. He was the defensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998 under head coach Dom Capers and helped the franchise advance to the NFC Championship Game in just its second season.

Indianapolis Colts

Fangio coached the defense for the Colts from 1999 to 2001 under head coach Jim Mora Sr.

Houston Texans

Fangio joined another first-year team in the Houston Texans in 2002. He was Dom Capers' defensive coordinator in Houston from 2002 to 2005.

Baltimore Ravens

Fangio joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2006 and worked as a special assistant to the head coach/defensive assistant for his first three years with the Ravens and later coached a linebackers group in 2009 that featured All-Pro Ray Lewis.

Stanford

In 2010, Fangio was the defensive coordinator for the Stanford Cardinal under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

San Francisco 49ers

In 2011, Fangio followed Harbaugh to the San Francisco 49ers when Harbaugh was hired as the 49ers' head coach. Along with Harbaugh, Fangio was credited with turning around the 49ers defense, producing a league-high 35 turnovers in 2011. Fangio was released from his contract by the 49ers on January 15, 2015 after Harbaugh was let go.

Chicago Bears

On January 19, 2015, Fangio agreed in principle to become the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. After the departure of outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt in 2017, Fangio assumed that position in addition to his role as defensive coordinator. During Fangio's first three seasons in Chicago, the Bears defense improved from a 30th-ranked unit in 2014 to being 14th, 15th, and 10th in total defense.

Fangio's contract expired following the 2017 season and he interviewed for the Bears' head coaching position on January 3, 2018. The head coaching position ultimately went to Matt Nagy. Nine days later, Fangio signed a three-year extension with the Bears to continue as their defensive coordinator, making him the first Bears defensive coordinator to stay under a new head coach since Buddy Ryan with newly-arriving head Mike Ditka in 1982. Fangio was also granted complete control of the defense. Under Fangio, the 2018 Bears defense excelled as it led the NFL in turnovers forced (36) and interceptions (27). Chicago was also ranked third in total defense, second in yards per play allowed, and first in scoring defense. On January 17, 2019, Fangio was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association. A month later, he received the same honor from the Associated Press at the 8th NFL Honors.

Denver Broncos (head coach)

On January 10, 2019, Fangio was hired to become the 17th head coach of the Denver Broncos.

2019 season

As Fangio assembled his staff, defensive backs coach Ed Donatell followed him from Chicago to serve as his defensive coordinator, as did outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley for the same position. On September 9, 2019, Fangio lost his regular season head coaching debut against the Oakland Raiders by a score of 24-16. On October 6, 2019, Fangio recorded his first career win as head coach in a 20–13 win against the Los Angeles Chargers. In Fangio's first season as head coach, he led the Broncos to a 7–9 record, finishing 2nd in the AFC West.

2020 season

In Fangio's second season as head coach, the Broncos lost their star defensive player in Von Miller for the season, due to injury. The Broncos began the 2020 season with a 16–14 loss to the Tennessee Titans on September 14, 2020. On September 21, 2020, Fangio was fined by the NFL for not properly wearing a face mask, as required for coaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, during a Week 2 game. On November 28, 2020, Broncos' backup quarterback Jeff Driskel had tested positive for COVID-19, and starting quarterback Drew Lock, as well as third and fourth quarterbacks Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles, had been in physical contact with Driskel without wearing protective masks. Accordingly, all four were placed in league-mandated quarantine and were deemed ineligible to play in the Week 12 game against the New Orleans Saints on November 29, 2020. Undrafted wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback at Wake Forest and was promoted from the practice squad, served as the emergency starter, with running back Royce Freeman as the backup. The Broncos would go on to lose against the Saints by a score of 31–3. Lock, Rypien and Bortles were activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on December 1, 2020 and returned to the active roster in preparation for the team's Week 13 game at the Kansas City Chiefs, while Driskel returned to the active roster on December 16, 2020. On December 2, 2020, Fangio announced that the team had fined all four of its quarterbacks for violating COVID-19 protocols and not wearing masks while in close contact of each other. In his second season, Fangio led the Broncos to a 5–11 record, finishing 4th in the AFC West.

2021 season

Fangio led the Broncos to a 3–0 start before going 4–10 the rest of the way. After the Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season finale, the Broncos parted company with Fangio. Fangio finished his tenure with the Broncos with a record in three seasons.

On February 12, 2022, following his departure from Denver, Fangio announced that he would not coach with a team during the 2022 season.

Philadelphia Eagles (first stint)

Fangio was spotted at a few practices that the Philadelphia Eagles had during their 2022 training camp. On October 10, 2022, news broke that the Eagles had hired Fangio to serve as a consultant. He had been serving in the role for the season, but the team managed to keep the news quiet. Fangio signed a two-week long contract to help with the Eagles' preparation for Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Miami Dolphins

Following Super Bowl LVII, Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was expected to depart the team to accept a head coaching position, and Fangio was seen as a likely candidate to replace Gannon. However, before Gannon officially left the Eagles to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Fangio accepted an offer to become the new defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. He was officially hired by the team on February 15, 2023.

On January 24, 2024, Fangio and the Dolphins mutually agreed to part ways, allowing Fangio to be closer to his family in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Eagles (second stint)

On January 27, 2024, Fangio returned to the Philadelphia Eagles as the team's defensive coordinator. He replaced Sean Desai, who had served as a defensive assistant under Fangio during his tenure as defensive coordinator for the Bears. The Eagles ranked first in total defense and second in scoring defense, improving from 26th and 30th in those categories the previous season. Fangio finished fourth in voting for the season's Assistant Coach of the Year Award. The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs, and Fangio's defensive unit was widely credited in overwhelming the Chiefs' offense, sacking quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times and forcing three turnovers.

While the defense regressed into the 2025 season, Fangio’s unit still allowed the lowest completion percentage, fewest passing touchdowns and second lowest passer rating in the NFL. However, the rushing defense significantly regressed and was rated the 11th worst in the NFL. The defense also didn’t play well in the wild card game against the San Francisco 49ers, as they allowed two touchdown drives to them in the fourth quarter and failed to protect a 19-17 lead. The defense failing to protect leads was a problem all season, and led to major collapses against the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys.

Head coaching record

References

References

1. Klee, Paul and Mark Kiszla. (2025-01-31). "Friday Faceoff: How can Broncos Country stomach yet another Chiefs Super Bowl?".
2. "Vic Fangio". Denver Broncos.
3. (December 2, 1975). "Vic Fangio Senior on Dunmore High football team". The News-Item.
4. "Philadelphia Eagles | Official Site of the Philadelphia Eagles".
5. (2019-01-10). "ESU Alum Vic Fangio '80 Hired as Denver Broncos Head Coach".
6. (2020-11-27). "'Very Special For Me': Fangio Reminisces First Coaching Stop In NFL With New Orleans Saints".
7. "NFC Championship - Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers - January 12th, 1997".
8. Heath, Jon. (2019-10-12). "Colts almost drafted Champ Bailey in 1999". USA Today.
9. Wilson, Aaron. (December 5, 2019). "Broncos' Vic Fangio recalls time with Texans". Houston Chronicle.
10. Lane, Mark. (December 5, 2019). "Vic Fangio told Bob McNair the Texans would beat the Cowboys in franchise's first game". USA Today.
11. King, Jakob. (2019-01-10). "Fangio-Kubiak is the best duo Elway could have hoped for".
12. "Bio: Vic Fangio". Stanford University.
13. Fucillo, David. (January 15, 2015). "Fangio, Donatell, Leavitt released from contracts".
14. Wright, Michael C.. (January 20, 2015). "Vic Fangio new Bears D-coordinator".
15. Potash, Mark. (January 25, 2017). "Bears upgrade their coaching staff: Vic Fangio with OLBs". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
16. Williams, Charean. (January 12, 2018). "Bears keep Vic Fangio, hire Mike Furrey".
17. Stankevitz, JJ. (January 7, 2018). "Where the Bears' coaching search stands after one week and six interviews". [[WMAQ-TV]].
18. Dickerson, Jeff. (January 12, 2018). "Vic Fangio agrees to new deal to remain with Bears".
19. Potash, Mark. (January 13, 2018). "Return of DC Vic Fangio another big win for new Bears coach Matt Nagy". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
20. Biggs, Brad. (December 27, 2018). "With Vic Fangio sure to be in demand, the Bears might need to think outside the box to keep the defensive mastermind". [[Chicago Tribune]].
21. Carroll, Charlotte. (January 9, 2019). "Report: Vic Fangio Reaches Four-Year Deal With Broncos to Be New Head Coach".
22. Swanson, Ben. (January 17, 2019). "PFWA selects Vic Fangio as 2018 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year".
23. (February 2, 2019). "Former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year". [[USA Today]].
24. DiLalla, Aric. (January 10, 2019). "Broncos agree to terms with Vic Fangio to become head coach". DenverBroncos.com.
25. Biggs, Brad. (January 15, 2019). "Ed Donatell leaving Bears to be Broncos defensive coordinator under Vic Fangio". [[Chicago Tribune]].
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27. "Denver Broncos 2019 Games and Schedule".
28. "Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos - September 14th, 2020".
29. (September 21, 2020). "Sources: NFL fines Broncos' Vic Fangio, Seahawks' Pete Carroll, 49ers' Kyle Shanahan $100K each for mask noncompliance". ESPN.com.
30. (November 29, 2020). "Broncos to face Saints without QB Drew Lock, both backups after all were deemed high-risk contacts". NFL.
31. DiLalla, Aric. (December 1, 2020). "Broncos activate Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Blake Bortles from Reserve/COVID-19 list". Denver Broncos.
32. DiLalla, Aric. (December 16, 2020). "Broncos sign CB Parnell Motley off 49ers' practice squad, activate Jeff Driskel from Reserve/COVID-19 list". Denver Broncos.
33. Legwold, Jeff. (2020-12-02). "Four Denver Broncos QBs fined by team for not wearing masks".
34. "2020 Denver Broncos Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports".
35. Kosmider, Nick. (2022-01-09). "Broncos fire head coach Vic Fangio after 3 seasons".
36. Allen, Ely. (2022-02-13). "Former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio won't coach in 2022".
37. Knox, Geoffrey. (2022-08-01). "Thoughts on Vic Fangio visiting Eagles training camp".
38. Gowton, Brandon Lee. (2022-10-10). "Source: Eagles consulting with Vic Fangio".
39. Rapoport, Ian. (February 12, 2023). "Vic Fangio quietly signed contract with Eagles to help prepare them for Super Bowl; Fangio will join Dolphins after game".
40. Patra, Kevin. (January 29, 2023). "Dolphins hiring ex-Broncos coach Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator".
41. (February 15, 2023). "Miami Dolphins Name Fangio Defensive Coordinator".
42. (January 24, 2023). "Miami Dolphins and Fangio Part Ways".
43. Spadaro, Dave. (January 27, 2024). "Eagles name Vic Fangio defensive coordinator".
44. "2024 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports".
45. (2025-02-12). "Kellen Moore didn't appear on a single ballot for assistant coach of the year".
46. (10 February 2025). "Vic Fangio and the Eagles' defense were the Super Bowl's biggest stars". The Washington Post.
47. (10 February 2025). "Eagles smother Chiefs with masterful defensive effort to dominate Super Bowl LIX, end three-peat bid". NFL.com.
48. (10 February 2025). "Dominant Eagles defense ends Chiefs' 3-peat bid". ESPN.com.
49. "Stay or Go? Examining potential changes to the Eagles' coaching staff".
50. "10 reasons the 2025 Eagles were a massive disappointment".
51. "Roob's Observations after an excruciating Eagles loss to end season".
52. (October 5, 2025). "Roob's Observations: Eagles' deficiencies pile up in brutal loss to Broncos".
53. (November 24, 2025). "Rare collapse, familiar problems: 5 takeaways from Eagles-Cowboys a day later".