The Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos aren’t waiting too long to interview Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio for their respective head coach vacancies.
Schedule updates: #Patriots OC Josh McDaniels is expected to interview for the #Packers HC opening on Friday, source said. … #Bears DC Vic Fangio is expected to do his interviews (#Broncos, #Dolphins) on Monday, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 1, 2019
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweets that Fangio is expected to interview with the Broncos and Dolphins on Monday, which is the earliest he can take a formal interview with teams looking to fill head coach openings. It feels unlikely that these are the only two interviews Fangio will take and there could be more on the horizon … once his permitted to do so, of course.
During Monday’s press conference, Head Coach Matt Nagy declined to discuss Fangio receiving interest in head coaching jobs elsewhere, citing a desire to avoid distractions leading into game week. But when Prince Amukamara was asked about it on Tuesday, it didn’t sound like that distraction was making its presence felt:
#Bears CB Prince Amukamara on Vic Fangio drawing head coaching interest: "I know that's far removed from his mind. I know he's thinking about going back to the big game and he's thinking about winning, scheming against the Eagles and Foles."
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) January 1, 2019
Fangio’s stock has been on the rise this season and it’s hard to imagine it slowing down any time soon with eight NFL head coach openings.
Yesterday, we discussed how Fangio was receiving early interest from teams and figured to be a popular candidate for interviews once he was able to do so. The NFL rule-book does not allow assistant coaches whose teams are participating in games on Wild-Card Weekend to formally interview for head-coaching positions with other teams until after their game is in the books. Bears fans should remember this as the team had to wait until Sunday to get a first interview with then-Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy. And we all know how that turned out!