Vic Fangio appears poised to return to an NFL sideline in 2023, but will it be in South Beach with the Miami Dolphins? Reports on Sunday from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport seemed to indicate that the Dolphins were making Fangio the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the entire NFL.
Then, later on Sunday and into Monday, folks around the NFL who spoke to Vic Fangio personally say that those reports were premature.
Vic Fangio could spurn the Miami Dolphins for the San Francisco 49ers
Spoke with Vic Fangio. Nothing is finalized with Miami at this time. Dolphins expressing strong interest in Fangio as defensive coordinator. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 29, 2023
For what it's worth, Vic Fangio told me late last night, "Nothing has been decided on my end." There is a huge amount of mutual respect between Kyle Shanahan and Fangio, a highly successful Niners DC under Jim Harbaugh. And it appears the 49ers will have an opening soon.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 30, 2023
If you’re a Miami Dolphins fan who was hoping for a reunion in South Beach between Fangio and Bradley Chubb, you might have to pump the brakes on that one for a bit. It seems like Mike McDaniel might have his top defensive coordinator candidate swiped from him by his old boss in San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan.
Let’s just take the moment to dream — while we still can — about the idea of Vic Fangio, arguably the NFL’s top defensive mind and the architect of much of what’s on-trend defensively in the league today, joining forces with the mastermind of offense that is Kyle Shanahan.
With the roster that team has?
We may not have to imagine it for much longer. It may soon become a reality and would provide for appointment viewing (as if the 49ers weren’t already) every single Sunday.
Not that it would not be fun if Fangio joined the Dolphins, but seeing him on the same staff as Kyle Shanahan would really be something else.
Why would Fangio be waiting to join the 49ers? Well, that defensive coordinator job in San Francisco could be coming available for the second time in the last three seasons after Robert Saleh left in 2021 for the New York Jets and DeMeco Ryans appears poised to take over the Houston Texans in 2023.
There are rumblings that if — or when — Ryans gets a head coaching gig, he will be taking some top assistants on that 49ers defense with him, so it makes sense that the 49ers would be looking to an outside hire after doing a lot of promoting from within in recent years.
Fangio would undoubtedly assemble a great staff wherever he lands and has spoken somewhat recently about watching lots of film this season, getting ideas for new concepts to add to his defense when he does return, and you can bet he’d keep that 49ers defense right there in the top five where they belong.
This is bad news for Dolphins fans who would be back to the drawing board after seemingly landing the biggest fish on the free agent defensive coordinator market. Where would they turn after Fangio? That remains to be seen. Nothing is a done deal, but if Fangio were going to Miami, why the conflicting reports? There has been plenty of that so far in 2023.