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NFL insider expects Eagles to “make an aggressive play” for Vic Fangio if Jonathan Gannon leaves

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By: Brandon Lee Gowton

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Philly’s new defensive coordinator?

There’s a decent chance the Philadelphia Eagles will have a new defensive coordinator after this season.

For the second year in a row, reports indicate Jonathan Gannon is a strong contender to land the Houston Texans’ head coaching job.

Even if that doesn’t work out, Gannon might draw interest from another team. NFL insider Albert Breer suggested he might get an interview with the Arizona Cardinals.

Breer recently offered another tidbit of interest to Eagles fans as it relates to a potential Gannon replacment:

Vic Fangio is a name you’ll hear a lot in the coming weeks for DC positions. I’d expect Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins to make an aggressive play, as would the Eagles if they lose Gannon.

Hardly a shocker. We previously noted that the Eagles have been consulting with Fangio.

At the time, we touched on the possibility of Fangio succeeding Gannon.

Though Fangio has been granted his own access to the NovaCare Complex in South Philly, he is currently contributing remotely. Thus, one could surmise he is helping with game plans in some capacity but doesn’t have a role in the live game day action.

One can also wonder why word of Fangio’s involvement didn’t come to light sooner. Perhaps there is a concern about optics of Gannon being undermined. Or perhaps the Eagles are just quietly preparing to replace Gannon with Fangio if Philly’s DC ends up getting a head coaching job in the 2023 hiring cycle. Gannon clearly drew interest last year as he interviewed for multiple openings before returning to the Eagles.

There would be logic to Fangio eventually replacing Gannon. In addition to boasting an impressive resume, Fangio is a Dunmore, Pennsylvania native (two hours north of Philly). He also has a relationship with former Denver Broncos vice president of player personnel and current Eagles senior personnel director/advisor to the general manager Matt Russell. Russell and Fangio overlapped in 2019 and 2020.

As indicated by Breer, the Eagles figure to have competition for Fangio. In addition to the Dolphins’ rumored interest, there’s buzz out there that the veteran coach could be looking to team up with Sean Payton … wherever the former New Orleans Saints head coach lands.

Then again, it seems like the Broncos might be the favorite to get Payton. If that’s the case, is Fangio really going to back to Denver as their DC after leaving as their head coach?

Another factor to consider here is the timing of everything. Gannon cannot officially accept a head coaching job until the Eagles’ season is over, which might not be until after Super Bowl LVII on February 12. The Birds will likely have an idea if he’s actually landing a new job or not prior to that point. But might Fangio want to make a decision before then instead of waiting for a job that may or may not open?

Assuming Gannon leaves and Fangio is not his replacement, the expectation here is that the Eagles will look to promote defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson to the DC role. Wilson reportedly interviewed for that title with the Cleveland Browns this offseason … but former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz landed that job.

Originally posted on Bleeding Green Nation