Vic Fangio is back as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator in 2026, and he’s already stirring up the kind of conversation that makes you wonder if the NFL’s approach to practice has drifted too far from what actually works.
On a recent episode of the Exciting Mics podcast, Fangio sat down with his star slot cornerback Cooper DeJean. The third-year defensive back asked his coach a straightforward question: After 40 years in the league, what’s the biggest change you’ve seen? Fangio’s answer didn’t focus on schemes, athleticism, or the spread offense. He went straight at how teams treat their own players.
“I don’t think the players have changed very much at all, to be honest with you,” Fangio said. “What has changed is what is expected of the players or what they can and can’t do, and you know, people are afraid to practice too long, work too hard. I personally believe that players want to be coached, they want to be worked, and they want to get better.”
Fangio has been coaching since 1979, when he started at Dunmore High School in Pennsylvania. He got his first NFL gig with the Saints in 1986. So when he says something has shifted, it’s worth paying attention. He thinks the league hasn’t necessarily gotten softer. But he does think teams have done players a disservice by cutting back on practice time and reps.
“And that hasn’t changed in 40 years, but we’ve made it harder, and I don’t think, not so much the league, it’s just all the individual teams have, you know, cut back on practice and cut back on reps,” Fangio continued. “I don’t think players are against working. As I’ve said, I think you both heard me say, get in front of the defense and say, how many of you guys have heard from retired players and players that have played in the NFL previously that you guys don’t work as hard as we did? And everybody raises their hand, and I say it’s true, but it’s not your fault. You know, we’re not structuring things that way now.”
It’s a fascinating take from a guy who has seen the game evolve through multiple eras. And it lands differently in Philadelphia, where Fangio just helped deliver a Super Bowl win. The Eagles defense was dominant last season, and DeJean played a huge role in that. So when Fangio says players want to be pushed, DeJean is living proof that approach can still work at the highest level.
Now, is Fangio right? It’s complicated. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement limits practice time and contact, and those rules exist for a reason. Player safety is real. But Fangio’s argument is more about mentality than legality. He’s saying the culture has shifted to a place where coaches are scared to demand too much, and that’s holding players back from reaching their potential.
Fangio’s own track record suggests he knows what he’s talking about. He’s widely considered one of the architects of modern NFL defense. His time in Miami was messy — the Dolphins players reportedly tuned him out — but Philly has been a different story. The results speak for themselves.
The question now is whether other teams listen to a 67-year-old defensive coordinator who just won a ring and says the game has gotten too soft on itself. If they do, we might see a league-wide shift in how practices are run. If they don’t, Fangio will keep doing it his way in Philly, and that’ll probably work out just fine for the Eagles.
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