The Eagles’ defense delivered a dominant performance in the first half of the Super Bowl, shutting out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense while limiting them to a mere 23 yards. The Eagles’ relentless pressure resulted in six sacks of Mahomes; all without blitzing. And leading that defense was NFL veteran Vic Fangio—who was still not satisfied with his D-Line despite the absolute defensive masterclass they had just delivered.
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Fangio has coached in the NFL for 38 years and has built his reputation around the leagues as one of the best defensive minds. His defenses are regularly some of the best in football. And that, according to Eagles edge rusher Jalyx Hunt, is because of Fangio’s mindset.
According to Hunt, Fangio is never satisfied and wants the team to “take every game just as serious [as] the Super Bowl.” As the “perfectionist” he is, Fangio’s idea of a perfect game would be one where the opposing team doesn’t “score at all.”
So when the Kansas City Chiefs were able to put 22 points on the board during the Super Bowl—even if it was just in the fourth quarter—Fangio was still unsatisfied and laid into the defense for letting that happen.
“After we won the Super Bowl… we came in just for a team meeting [for] the parade… Vic goes over our checklist and says ‘this is unacceptable’, circles the second half. ‘Unacceptable, 22 points.’ We won but… he wants perfection, through and through,” Hunt revealed on the Petetakes YouTube channel.
Hunt further revealed that rookies under Fangio are immediately treated the same as every other player on the team. They don’t get to make excuses by saying they must adapt to the NFL game. This “demand [of] excellence” allowed Hunt to learn an “insane” amount of football knowledge as a rookie. It also helped Philadelphia become league champions for the second time ever.
Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles’ social media team had Fangio respond to fan questions. The man’s no-nonsense personality shined through the content, as he routinely tossed cards featuring questions he didn’t want to answer on the ground. Despite this, he still peeled back the curtain for Philly’s fanbase.
Vic Fangio was destined to win with the Eagles
Fangio, who grew up in Dunmore, PA – roughly 130 miles north of Philadelphia – was a Philly sports fan in his youth. He said his favorite moments were seeing the Phillies win MLB’s World Series in 1980 and the 76ers win the NBA Finals in 1983. Fangio also listed Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago as “good food” towns. He claimed Indianapolis’ food “sucked” because it was “too bland.”
Fangio has been around the league for nearly four decades, but you won’t find any notes from his early career in his office. He said he “[doesn’t] keep anything past three years.” This, to an extent, is because that’s “about all his office could fit.”
At heart, it’s clear Fangio always belonged with the Eagles. He revealed that his favorite movie is ‘Rocky,’ and that what he loves most about Philadelphia is its food and passion for professional sports. He waited a long time to become an NFL champion, but there’s seemingly no organization he’d have preferred to reach the mountaintop with over the Eagles.
