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The Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. They sacked Patrick Mahomes six times, forced three turnovers, and won the game with their defense in the first half. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio coached a masterclass, finally winning his first title. He quoted college basketball icon Dean Smith while speaking after the game with Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I heard a quote that Dean Smith many years ago, if you guys remember, he went to a bunch of Final Fours before he finally won one, and they asked him the next day, ‘How does it feel you got a monkey [off your back]?’ He said, ‘I’m the same coach today as I was yesterday. We just got a championship.’”
Smith went to six Final Fours before winning his first title in his seventh appearance in 1982. A young player named Michael Jordan, maybe you remember him, helped beat Georgetown by one point in the Championship Game. He went back to the Final Four and lost in 1991 and then won his second title in his eighth Final Four appearance in 1993.
Fangio made the Super Bowl as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 2013, which they lost. And he was a consultant on the Eagles’ staff during the 2022 postseason, which ended in a loss to the Chiefs.
Fangio is from the Scranton, Pennsylvania area and left the Miami Dolphins last year to be closer to his family. But the Eagles knew they were getting a star coordinator when they brought Fangio to town. He pulled the same tricks that Todd Bowles did against Kansas City when the Buccaneers beat them in the Super Bowl in 2021. And now, he is on a one-way track to Canton.
The Eagles have built their defense through the draft with very few free-agent acquisitions. But one of the biggest acquisitions they made was Zach Baun, who came over as a no-name from the New Orleans Saints. Now, he hits free agency after an incredible season finished with a Super Bowl interception.
Fangio coached this defense to a Super Bowl title with one of the biggest free-agent busts of the offseason. Bryce Huff signed a three-year deal and was scratched from the Super Bowl roster. But Baun was a revelation because of a position change initiated by Fangio. Anecdotes like that are just a part of why Fangio is a Philly legend.
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