After being fired from Denver as their head coach Vick Fangio took what he called a sabbatical instead of entertaining multiple offers to become a defensive coordinator in 2022. Instead he took some time away from the game, time to reflect and recharge his batteries. And after a year off he was ready to get back on the horse.
Taking a step back with some time off will either tell you it is time for something new or re-energize you or make you retire. Vicks comments help you see what he concluded.
“I still have a lot of coaching left in me, It’s not like I’m thinking about retirement or anything. Somebody asked, ‘How much longer are you gonna do this?’ I don’t know. It might be 10 years, if they’ll have me here for 10 years. It’s just who I am, what I do, what I enjoy doing. I like the competition. I like teaching players. I like to see players improve as individuals. And putting something together is challenging and fulfilling.” —Vick Fangio
So, what did Fangio do with his year sabbatical? Did he sit around and take it easy? Did he travel the world in 80 days? Well let’s see what he did in his own words
“It was good time, I spent it well, I treated it like a college professor on a sabbatical. I had a full video setup of everything in the league, just as if I was a coach in somebody’s office and studied a lot of different situations and facets of the game and it was very, very good for me and I’ve already come up with a new coverage or two that like I’m anxious to try out.” —Vick Fangio
He did exactly what you would have expected, took time to improve his coaching and even came up with new coverages.
“There’s a few things that I came up with that I’m anxious to try. We’ll try them in OTAs at some point and then in training camp as a good fit for the other things we do,” he said. “But what’s going to be most important is tailoring what we do to our players and to the opponent that we’re playing for that week.” —Vick Fangio
That should put some fear into opposing offensive coordinators because not only dose Fangio have new schemes, but he also has the tools to work with like Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Jevon Holland, Brandon Jones, Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler, Raekwon Davis, Jerome Baker, David Long Jr.
How good is Miami’s new DC?
“I guess imitation is the best form of flattery that or something like that, but I’d prefer it not being that way because offenses get used to attacking it,” Fangio said. “And so we always have to adjust and come up with new things. But, yeah, I think it’s good that teams have tried to copy (his defense) to some degree because they’ve seen it be successful,” —Vick Fangio
Yes, folks his scheme is copied throughout the league and knowing this Vick has already made some changes that have yet to be unveiled.
As a side note Renaldo Hill who spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers stepped down to become the pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach for Vick Fangio. That is all you need to know about our new DC!
This was the most significant move the Dolphins made this off-season and remember HC Mike McDaniel wanted Fangio when he was hired but gave Josh Boyer a shot to prove himself and as we know Miami’s Defense ranked among the worst defenses in 2022.
Not everything last year can be blamed on Boyer because injuries decimated his unit, but despite that Boyer had some very questionable calls and non-calls that proved his lack of experience at the position, and I am happy we have a well-respected veteran DC to help our defense play to its true potential.
Rested and ready to add some Rinkles I expect our defense to be a top 10 defense in the league this year.
Fins Up!
The Dolphin Seer 