Worth the wait: Dolphins win big as defensive ace Vic Fangio ends doubt and commits to Miami

In sports as in life, sometimes you have to wait. There is a reason the phrase credited to medieval English writer William Langland in his circa 1370s poem “Piers Plowman” is still said all these centuries later: Patience is a virtue.

That it might be rewarded is its value. Especially when the reward is great enough.

So the Miami Dolphins waited for Vic Fangio. And waited. And then won.

A franchise with a big need for one just landed the best defensive coordinator available in the NFL.

On Sunday the two sides had agreed to terms. Then there seemed to be doubts, and rumors Fangio might go to San Francisco instead, or Denver. Atlanta

wanted him, too. And Philadelphia didn’t want to lose him.

Four days later, on Thursday morning,

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported: “After speaking with multiple teams about their defensive coordinator position, Vic Fangio has decided to join the Dolphins and officially will accept the position on the Miami staff after the Super Bowl.”

The wait is because Fangio spent this past season as a Philadelphia Eagles defensive consultant. The consultations must have gone pretty well. Philly’s defense is why the Birds are playing Kansas City for the championship — just the latest nod to Fangio’s acumen at defensive football.

I’m not one for hyperbole, but this is big.

Based on Miami’s need dovetailing with Fangio’s track record, this is very big.

It might not be tradingfor-Tyreek-Hill-huge in the fireworks category, but it’s as big any coaching staff hire below the head coach level can get.

the Houston Texans’ head-coaching vacancy.

But in the end, the Dolphins will be bringing in a coach that they were initially linked to when Mike McDaniel was hired as head coach last year.

According to NFL Network, which originally reported the Dolphins had agreed to terms with Fangio, the deal is a threeyear contract with a team option for the fourth year and makes Fangio the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.

Fangio, who turns 65 in August, has also been a defensive coordinator for the Panthers, Colts, Texans and Bears in an NFL coaching career that spans over three decades.

He was named 2018 AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year after leading a Chicago defense that ranked first in takeaways. He then received his first head-coaching opportunity with the Broncos. He was fired after three seasons, accumulating a 1930 record.

Fangio was one of four known candidates for the Dolphins’ opening. Miami also interviewed former Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai, former Saints co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard and Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile.

After keeping the core of their unit from 2021, the Dolphins’ defense regressed in 2022. Miami ranked 24th in scoring defense (23.5 points per game) and 30th in takeaways (14).

In Fangio’s 22 seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator or head coach, his defense has finished top-10 in scoring 10 times and in the top half of the league 13 times.

Fangio’s arrival is also expected to come with a philosophical change to a defense that has relied on heavy rates of blitzing and man coverage in recent years.

Fangio’s defenses have typically centered around varying usage of zone coverages and pre- and post-snap disguises with a more measured approach to blitzing.

In a 2019 sitdown interview with ESPN, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Rams coach Sean McVay and Packers coach Matt LaFleur all named Fangio as the coach whose defense is hardest to gameplan for.

“He does so many things with his personnel groupings that he puts you in a bind with protections. He ties a lot of stuff together,” Shanahan said.