ClutchPoints
After a long and winding road through the professional wrestling landscape, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio can officially add Super Bowl Champion to his long list of accolades.
That’s right, after spending four decades in the stretch as a college assistant, an NFL assistant, and even a head coach for a time in Denver, Fangio has reached the pinnacle of professional football, proving that even in his 60s, he remains one of the best defensive minds in the business.
Asked how Fangio has been so good for so long by WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, DBs coach Christian Parker broke it down, noting he’s learned a lot by the DC’s consistency.
“Yeah, so this is my second year with Vic; he hired me in 2021 in Denver. I think the one thing with Vic is just consistent as they come. Every day, I can walk by his office on Monday morning, I know what he’s doing; on Monday afternoon, I know what he’s doing; Tuesday morning, I know what he’s doing,” Parker said. “He’s very consistent in what he does, he has a process, he sticks to it. He challenges us as coaches; he challenges players in his own way; I think he’s phenomenal. There’s not a better defensive mind or game-day playcaller than him. I have learned so much from him, and I continue to do so.”
Parker also reflected on his time working under Nick Sirianni, who he feels is a good head coach not because of how he leads men but how instead he empowers them to empower themselves.
“I think the main thing with Nick, man, is just you lock into your laser-focused on the little things and how they become big. So being, you know, tough, detailed, together, those things. He always talks about how football hasn’t changed, so how you tackle, how you get off blocks, how you catch the ball, how you disrupt the ball, how you’re situationally aware; those things will never change. And his awareness for how to prepare the team from a mental perspective is at an extremely high level,” Parker explained.
“He’s always challenging us coaches, he’s always challenging himself first, and I think when you have a leader who is accountable to himself first, willing to admit when he makes mistakes, willing to have a wide lens on what everybody needs and allow you to do your job at a high level, but he’s very clear in terms of his expectation of what he expects you to do, your individual group to do, with individual players to do, that’s the sign of a really good head coach and he does a really good job of that.”
Are Fangio and Sirianni good tacticians? Most certainly so; they wouldn’t be where they are if they weren’t. Still, the common denominator is empowering the players and coaches under them, as an organization fueled by strivers wanting to grow [is clearly a recipe for Super Bowl...
