NEWSLETTER
While the end of the John Fox era represents a light at the end of the tunnel in some ways, his departure might not be the only one the Chicago Bears will face this offseason.
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio is described as “a logical candidate to join the Green Bay Packers” if the team parts ways with long-time coordinator Dom Capers, according to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, who run down a list of coordinators who will be free agents after this season ends.
In a separate report, Pelissero writes Capers’ departure is the biggest potential move that could be made by Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy. Pelissero lists Fangio as a name to watch as a possible replacement.
Just when you started to allow yourself to get excited about a new regime coming to town, the idea of Fangio scheming against Mitch Trubisky instead of Aaron Rodgers is a punch to the gut.
In 2015, Fangio left the San Francisco 49ers to join Fox and has served as the Bears’ defensive coordinator ever since. And do you remember just how bad the Bears defense was in the year before Fangio came around? In case you need a refresher, the unit ranked 30th in yards and 31st in points during Mel Tucker’s final season in Chicago. Thankfully, things changed for the better under Fangio, who made major strides to push the Bears’ defense up to 8th in yards and 10th in points entering Week 17.
At least Fangio believes the Bears’ defense is in good shape moving forward – and you don’t have to squint to see what Fangio does, either. There are building blocks in the form of defensive end Akiem Hicks, edge defender/outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, and safety Eddie Jackson – each of whom are under contract for at least the next three years. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman and safety Adrian Amos are solid contributors and have been since getting selected by Ryan Pace in his first draft class as Bears GM. And inside linebacker Danny Trevathan is as solid as they come.
At a minimum, the Bears’ defense is in a better place now than it was at the end of the 2014 season. But you have to acknowledge that at least some of that is precisely because Fangio is still around. Losing him – in general – would be a relatively big blow, and losing him to the Packers would sting twice as hard. Of course, none of that is certain (and there are always other talented coaches), so for now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
