After considering retirement for the second offseason in a row, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is expected to return to his post in 2026, per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Fangio, 67, has been an NFL coach since 1986 (outside of one season as Stanford’s defensive coordinator in 2010). He finally won a Super Bowl last year – his first season in Philadelphia – and contemplated going out on top. Instead, he returned for the 2025 season and oversaw some regression, though his defense was still stronger than Kevin Patullo‘s offense.
The Eagles will be hoping Fangio’s unit can return to dominance in 2026, but keeping him in the building is already a major success. The organization has not had a smooth offseason thus far, as their search to replace Patullo did not go as planned. There did not seem to be as much interest in the job as one would expect for a star-studded offense still only a year removed from a Super Bowl win. Multiple candidates withdrew from consideration, and it even seemed like Brian Daboll was more interested in working with Cam Ward in Tennessee than reuniting with Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia after their first stint together at Alabama.
The Eagles eventually landed on Sean Mannion for their OC job. He has just two years of coaching experience, which will likely bring head coach Nick Sirianni into a bigger role in the offense. That made keeping Fangio even more important. This late in the hiring cycle, it would be almost impossible for the Eagles to find a worthy replacement.
They will not have to worry about such a task, for now. But Fangio’s retirement is clearly approaching, and his will not be easy shoes to fill.