For nearly four decades, Vic Fangio has built a reputation as one of the NFL’s most meticulous defensive minds – capable of dismantling an offense with precision rather than spectacle.
On Sunday night, in the same Superdome where he began his NFL coaching career in 1986, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator delivered perhaps his finest performance yet.
In a 40-22 Super Bowl LIX thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs, Fangio didn’t just beat Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid – he rewrote their script entirely.
Known for his adaptability, Fangio flipped expectations yet again, crafting a game plan that left the Chiefs offense frustrated and searching for answers.
Fangio has long been known as a coach who prefers to generate pressure without heavy blitzing. But against Mahomes, he took that philosophy to an extreme.
The Eagles didn’t blitz a single time the entire game. Not once. Yet, thanks to a ferocious defensive front, they pressured Mahomes on an eye-popping 38.1% of snaps.
Rather than bringing extra rushers, Fangio trusted his defensive line to win their matchups while dropping seven into coverage.
The result? A relentless pass rush that tallied six sacks and 11 quarterback hits, all without compromising coverage on the back end.
Chiefs center Creed Humphrey admitted as much after the game.
“They didn’t show any different looks,” Humphrey said. “They didn’t show anything un-scouted. It just came down to them coming out and playing harder. It gets tough, because the defense knows what you’re going to do. But, there’s no excuses. You have to step up and do your job.”
And when Fangio knows what you’re going to do, you’re already in trouble.
Fangio is often associated with two-high safety looks, but this time, he leaned heavily on Cover-4 – a scheme the Eagles had used on just 20.7% of their snaps during the season.
Why the shift? Because against Cover-4 with four or fewer pass rushers this season, Mahomes had struggled, posting a 78.5 passer rating with only one touchdown and two interceptions.
Fangio exploited that weakness, forcing Mahomes into checkdowns and tight-window throws all night.
Mahomes acknowledged the challenge postgame.
“I’ve said that I’ll continue to work on and continue to get better at [forcing] defenses to blitz by attacking their zone coverages the right way. So that’s something that I can do better in my career,” Mahomes admitted.
By the time Mahomes finally found the end zone – hitting Xavier Worthy on a deep shot late in the third quarter – the game was already out of reach.
The Eagles had built a 34-0 lead before Kansas City even got on the scoreboard, and every Chiefs point after that felt like a formality.
The brilliance of Fangio’s coaching lies in how seamlessly his players execute their roles. Linebacker Zack Baun, who snagged a crucial interception just before halftime, credited the scheme’s structure.
“I think Vic does a good job of telling us where our help is, and what leverage we should play,” Baun said.
“We’ve always got help. When I’m out there, I trust my own tackling ability, but I also trust that Coop’s [defensive back Cooper DeJean] is going to come down and make the tackle with me, or Oren’s [linebacker Oren Burks is] going to come down and make the tackle with me.”
Baun’s interception was a textbook example of discipline.
Reading Mahomes’ eyes, he broke back on a throw that seemed out of his peripheral vision – just as he had done against the Packers in the playoffs.
“Yeah, it was kind of similar over the middle, but me and my linebacker coaches work it all the time. Body and back. I felt the route behind me, then I got to quarterback vision,” Baun said.
“I couldn’t feel him behind me, but then just broke on the ball, [read the] quarterback’s eyes, just had to catch it.”
DeJean, who celebrated his 22nd birthday with a 38-yard pick-six, also demonstrated a veteran-level understanding of the game. He undercut a backside over route intended for DeAndre Hopkins, a move Baun called a “veteran, savvy move.”
For all the talk about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense, this game belonged to the defense.
Fangio’s unit held Kansas City’s short passing game in check, allowing a league-low 4.1 yards per attempt on throws behind the line of scrimmage this season, per Next Gen Stats.
The Chiefs’ already-limited deep passing attack was neutralized, forcing Mahomes into a box from which he couldn’t escape.
Defensive end Josh Sweat wreaked havoc all game, recording 2.5 sacks and six pressures – and incredibly, those pressures came against five different Chiefs blockers.
The Eagles didn’t need exotic blitz packages; they just executed their plan to perfection.
Fangio, who has spent nearly 40 years in the NFL waiting for this moment, finally got his first Super Bowl ring.
Fangio’s masterclass performance last night begs the question: What the hell happened in Miami last year?
Fangio mutually parted ways with the organization after several Dolphins players complained that he was coaching them too hard.
Think about how horrific of a reflection that looks on Mike McDaniel’s team now…
Of course, having elite players always helps. However, it’s clear that there’s deeper issues in Miami based on the comments that came out a year ago.
Needless to say, the Dolphins’ loss was the Eagles’ gain. After all, Fangio was as important as any player on the field last night.
Knowing that the Eagles woke up today as Super Bowl champions – and that Fangio was one of the main reasons why – what should the Dolphins defenders that ran him out of town be feeling right now???
