Bears Expected To Retain DC Vic Fangio

The Bears are now expected to retain defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to serve under new head coach Matt Nagy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).Vic Fangio (vertical)

Chicago had reportedly to preferred to keep the 59-year-old Fangio (who is 20 years Nagy’s senior) in the fold, but Fangio — who also interviewed for the Bears’ head coaching position earlier this month — drew interest from several clubs around the league. The Bears put on a “full court press” to retain Fangio, tweets Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel, hinting that Green Bay’s decision to hire Mike Pettine may have been a result of Fangio’s reported $2MM price tag.

If he does indeed return to the Bears, Fangio will once again lead a defensive unit that ranked just 24th in points allowed but 14th in defensive DVOA, an indication the club was better on a play-by-play basis than overall. Defenders such as defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, cornerback Kyle Fuller, and safety Adrian Amos posted excellent seasons under Fangio’s leadership, and Chicago could use some its $42MM in cap space and/or the eighth overall selection to bolster the defensive personnel even further.

As PFR’s 2018 NFL Coordinator Tracker indicates, every team that had a defensive coordinator vacancy at the conclusion of the regular season has now either retained its incumbent DC or hired an external candidate.

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