A wrench was potentially thrown into the Philadelphia Eagles' plans for a rebound 2026 campaign in January when defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was reported to be mulling retirement.
Luckily for Philly, the 67-year-old DC stayed on board. NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported on Feb. 1 that Fangio was leaning toward continuing his nearly 40-year NFL coaching career, and according to the veteran coach, it was never a particularly difficult decision.
"I wasn't close," Fangio said during a Thursday news conference regarding his potential retirement. "I've had those thoughts the last few years. Every year at the end of the year, I just think about it. I never really got serious to where I would've done it. It's no different than I did after the '24 season, after the '23 season. I told the players the other day, we had our annual physical, we get physicals as coaches, and the docs told me I was reverse aging with my lab work and everything that came up. So, I told them you guys are stuck with me for a long while."
It also doesn't sound like there will be a retirement storyline next offseason, either, as Fangio added he's "good for two years at least."
The Eagles likely consider themselves far from stuck with Fangio, whose coaching career in the league dates back to 1986 and includes seven stops as a DC with one three-year head-coaching stint. His only pause from the NFL during that time came as Stanford's defensive coordinator in 2010.
Fangio has orchestrated a top-five scoring defense in each of his two seasons with Philadelphia, and his unit became the saving grace of a team that never found its offensive identity during last year's ill-fated follow-up to its Super Bowl LIX victory.
Fangio's continuation as DC provides some much-needed continuity under head coach Nick Sirianni. Philly will be acclimating to Sean Mannion, the team's fifth offensive coordinator in as many years, and life with Jeff Stoutland, who exited his role as the team's offensive line coach after 13 seasons.
Regardless, there will still be turnover and change on the defensive side of things. The Eagles saw players such as Jaelan Phillips, Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship depart in free agency, and Cooper DeJean will apparently be utilized in a new way after his 2025 All-Pro season.
Fangio told reporters that the Eagles plan to employ DeJean at safety when operating out of their base formation. DeJean logged just eight snaps in the box as a strong safety and spent one play at free safety last season, per PFF. He spent the majority of his time -- 697 snaps -- as a corner in the slot, and Fangio indeed noted DeJean would again resume his nickel corner responsibilities when the defense goes to its nickel formation.
With adjustments all over to get used to as Philadelphia tries to rediscover its groove moving forward, Fangio made clear Thursday he won't be one and shouldn't leave the team needing a new DC for some time.
Instead, the Eagles can rest assured it'll be able to lean on old reliable Fangio to lift them up in charge of a fierce, well-oiled machine.
