Vic Fangio can be a ‘tough egg to crack,’ but a surging Eagles defense is having fun with the Fangio-isms

Vic Fangio’s film review sessions often feature a mixture of dry humor, exacting detail, and the occasional imitation of his players’ signature celebrations.

During Monday film sessions with the entire defense, Fangio often highlights mistakes by drawing a frowning face or writing “blind” next to a player’s misdiagnosis. At the same time, he also mimics Josh Sweat’s trademark sack celebration and the team-wide gesture initiated by Cooper DeJean last month to celebrate big plays.

“When he sees we made a big hit on film, he’ll do it,” Eagles linebacker Zack Baun said. “He’s doing all the celebrations. ... He’s a tough egg to crack, but once you crack the shell, you see he likes to have fun.”

When Fangio joined the Eagles’ coaching staff last offseason, he had a reputation for being a demanding, hard-nosed coach who had seemingly clashed with a few players during his one-year stint with the Miami Dolphins. Now leading one of the youngest defenses in the NFL as one of the league’s oldest coaches, Eagles players said the 66-year-old strikes an important balance between an old-school mentality and a more lighthearted side.

The results have been apparent. The Eagles defense, with eight starters 25 years old or younger, goes into Week 16 ranked first in several defensive metrics, including total points and yards allowed, net passing yards per attempt allowed, and yards per play allowed.

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, who conceded that he heard mixed reviews about Fangio’s ability to connect with players from his peers across the NFL, said the defensive coordinator’s approach has gotten progressively more lighthearted this season while still maintaining a certain level of intensity.

“He’s been around in this league so long that he’s kind of found a way to balance himself to stay young but keep his mentality,” Slay said. “He does a good job of adjusting to us. I know you’re not in my meeting room, but he makes a lot of jokes. Everyone thinks he’s always this strict coach, but he does a good job of maintaining that and keeping his level calm while also reminding us what the main thing is, and that’s being one of the best defenses and contributing to winning.”

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When Fangio does his signature celebration in front of the defense, Sweat feels a mixture of pride and embarrassment.

While they usually review one of his sacks or discuss upcoming opportunities, Fangio’s exaggerated way of wiping faux sweat from his brow doesn’t quite match Sweat’s style.

“It’s embarrassing, ’cause he doesn’t do it right,” Sweat said, laughing. “I never told him. But it’s funny. I love it, though. I love it. ’Cause I know, you know, he’s a hard dude to earn his trust. It takes a while for you to earn his trust. And for him to do that, we never seen anything like that from him. ’Cause usually, he’s grumpy. He’s just old, grumpy.”

What’s so wrong with Fangio’s version?

“He’s like, just, like this,” Sweat said, wiping his brow without the all-important flick of the wrist. “No flick. No flick, no wrist. No anything.”

Sweat isn’t the only player on the Eagles defense who has progressively earned Fangio’s trust. His arrival at the NovaCare Complex earlier this year was preceded by a down year for the group, which was 30th in points allowed, 26th in yards allowed, and 31st in third-down conversion rate by the end of the season. By comparison, the group is No. 2 in third-down conversion rate this year.

An offseason rebuild led to the defense getting younger, with first-round rookie Quinyon Mitchell and second-rounder DeJean each earning starting roles by the midway point of the year. The team also turned to the young trio of Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, and Nolan Smith to take on bigger roles.

While it’s worth noting that Fangio made a handful of hires on the defensive coaching staff that included younger assistants who mostly had experience working under him, Sweat said Fangio’s knowledge across each position group has been important to the defense’s development.

“He goes over every play, every position, the whole time,” Sweat said. “You’ve got to stay up. But he gives everybody attention. Every position. And you don’t see that a lot. Some people just break it up, like, ‘Position coaches, do your job.’ But no, not him.”

Eagles defensive tackle Thomas Booker added: “He understands the small nuances of every position. From outside to inside release for DBs to being able to set up a move with a wider alignment for a three-technique to a linebacker having a better alignment pre-snap, six inches to the right so you can get to the B-gap, or whatever else. He has such a holistic knowledge of the game that he can give you useful tendencies and tips. ’Game within the game’ is what he likes to say. It helps everybody.”

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Booker, 25, noted that Fangio is a similar age to his dad, which has helped him relate to the veteran coach and his tendency for snarky jabs. Among his favorites is the coach’s habit of putting curt messages next to players who made errors on the tape during the group’s film reviews.

“My dad has these little things we call ‘Tom Booker-isms,’ and there’s probably some Fangio-isms that he just has,” Booker said. “He adds a little joke and little comments, little snarky things that he likes to say.”

In the days leading up to the Eagles’ game against the Baltimore Ravens, Baun let Fangio know his secret was out.

The Eagles linebacker, who has been playing at an All-Pro level since signing with the team in the offseason and switching from outside linebacker to the off-ball position Fangio believed he’d excel in, had friends in town from Chicago who were familiar with the longtime coach from his time on the Bears coaching staff.

“They asked me if I knew about Vic’s meatball recipe,” Baun said. “I’m like, ‘No, that’s interesting. Tell me more.’”

One thing led to another. Baun typed “Vic Fangio meatballs” into a search engine. In the results was an article from The Athletic with the video that’s now infamous among the Eagles locker room after Dean shared it in a social media post earlier this week with the caption, “Let him cook.”

“I showed Vic the video and he was like, ‘G—,’” Baun said, laughing. “I’m going to try to get the recipe, though.”

Whether it’s the byproduct of a successful season or something deeper for the Dunmore, Pa., native, Fangio’s first season back home stands in contrast to the reputation he brought with him from Miami. Fangio rebuffed reports of discord between him and Miami players during the offseason, but a few players, most notably Jalen Ramsey and Jevon Holland, took not-so-subtle shots at their former coordinator after he and the Dolphins agreed to part ways in January.

Slay, one of the senior members of the Eagles defense with friends across the league, said he heard mixed feedback when the Eagles hired Fangio.

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“I’ve had some guys that I know personally that said he was a good dude; some people said he wasn’t a great dude,” Slay said. “But it was going to be my judgment at the end of the day. I see him as a great dude and a great coach. He came in with a great mentality. It wasn’t anything disrespectful about him saying anything to me or other players in here.

“I think he really just speaks the truth. And I think a lot of men just don’t like the truth. If you can take the truth from him, I think you’d be pretty good.”

That truth can be cutting at times, especially in the early going as Fangio installed and harped on the different elements of his scheme.

Going into the final stretch of the regular season with increasing demands for the group to peak at the right time, the jokes and mock celebrations have become the counterbalance and an illustration of how far the group has come.

“I think he’s just getting comfortable,” Slay said. “I know in training camp he was kind of like installing defenses and making sure we know our stuff, and now that he trusts that we know his defense ... I guess he’s confident enough and trusts us enough to get a job done, and now that’s bringing his character out. But he still demands certain stuff out of us because that’s his job.”

Inquirer staff writer Olivia Reiner contributed to this report.

The Eagles play in Week 16 against the Washington Commanders. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Northwest Stadium.