Vic Fangio took some flack from Miami Dolphins players upon leaving to take the defensive coordinator job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Ron Jaworski has responded to those critics.
Fangio was the defensive coordinator in Miami for the 2023 season after spending 2022 as a consultant for the Eagles. He and the Dolphins parted ways after the season, and the Eagles quickly hired him as their DC.
After Fangio left Miami, some Dolphins players seemed to respond to the news.
Jevon Holland appeared to signal that Fangio should go kick rocks.
Jevon Hollands Instagram story of him kicking rocks minutes after dolphins part ways with Vic pic.twitter.com/njcJh1pSRD
— Dan Jablonski (@dan_jablonski) January 24, 2024
Cam Smith shared an emoji indicating he felt he would now be unlocked as a player.
🔓
— Cammmm ひ (@yjbcam) January 24, 2024
Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill was complimentary of Fangio, but indicated there was a problem between the 65-year-old coach and his players.
“I learned a lot from him, even though it was quick,” Hill said of Fangio. “He’s really a guru at defense. He’s just got to learn how to fit in with his players.”
That’s a lot of criticism aimed at Fangio, who has long been a well-respected coach in the league.
Jaworski, a former longtime Eagles quarterback, defended his friend Fangio during a radio appearance.
Jaws joined Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie for an appearance Tuesday on the WIP Morning Show in Philadelphia.
Jaws said that the players who complained about Fangio were slackers.
“Coaches coach. I have connections as well around this league and I hear another side of that story, that there were some players on that defense that didn’t want to work. Didn’t want to put the time in, didn’t want to put the effort in, didn’t want to make the commitment to be successful. Guys like to party at night and South Beach is really a great place to party. And Vic tried to get those guys and push those guys to become harder workers and better athletes, and more committed to their team. And he couldn’t get through to those guys. Those were the guys that Vic was pushing and they’re the guys that are whining right now,” Jaws said.
Confirming the rift between Fangio and some Dolphins players were comments from Drew Rosenhaus.
The player agent represents several Dolphins players and had said last week “there were quite a few players on the team that didn’t necessarily get along with Fangio.”
Was it a Fangio problem or a Dolphins players problem in Miami? If the Eagles’ defense performs better next season under Fangio, we may have our answer.
