One teams’ trash is another teams’ treasure.
For the third year in a row, the Miami Dolphins will have a new voice in the defensive coordinator role.
On Wednesday afternoon, the organization announced that they mutually agreed with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to sever ties after only one season.
Embed from Getty Images“I want to thank Vic for his contributions in 2023,” coach Mike McDaniel said in a statement. “When we assessed the season, it became apparent that this was the best path forward for all parties involved. Now, we turn our focus to 2024 and beyond with urgency as we identify the best candidate to lead our defense moving forward. We remain steadfastly committed to the development of our players and to building a winning team with sustained success.”
Fangio, 65-years-of-age, joined the Dolphins in 2023 after the club parted ways with Josh Boyer after three seasons. He was the most handsomely compensated defensive coordinator last year. The Dolphins made significant strides under the leadership of Fangio, ranking 10th in yards allowed and 22nd in points given up. The Dolphins also finished third in the NFL in getting home to the quarterback with 56 sacks and tied for eighth in forced turnovers, 27. His exotic defense took a while to adjust to, however, they ranked seventh in the league in defensive expected points, added from Week 8 to Week 18, in concert with the return of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who came back from a major injury.
Fangio’s defense started with one hand tied behind its back, dealing with a rash of injuries to critical players, from Pro Bowl corner Ramsey missing the beginning of the season, to losing nearly its entire edge rush down the stretch, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel, just to name a few.
After surrendering the division lead down the stretch and getting smoked out of the playoffs with a season-low seven points scored in a wild-card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, McDaniel will kick off the offseason with the arduous task of searching for his third defensive coordinator in three seasons, not great for continuity.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is a candidate for the Dolphins new defensive coordinator opening.
Fangio figures to be a hot commodity in a league with a surplus of defensive coordinator openings. The most logical landing spot would be the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ Philadelphia, where Fangio is already familiar with the team after working alongside them as a consultant in 2022 also helping the team get ready for Super Bowl LVII, before ultimately returning to the Dolphins. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked in particular about Fangio as the news broke during Philadelphia’s year-end news conference.
“We got a lot of good targets that we’re working through,” he said. “There are a lot of guys that have done really well in their interview process. I look forward to continue with that process and we’ll see what happens.”
Fangio has credentials a mile long. He was the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018 as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator and has 37 years under his belt of NFL coaching experience.
