{"id":722081,"date":"2026-02-01T19:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T19:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722081\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T19:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T19:35:20","slug":"eagles-dc-vic-fangio-retirement-rumors-5-potential-replacements-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722081\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles DC Vic Fangio retirement rumors: 5 potential replacements for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Eagles <\/a>have to be ready to pivot at any moment, with one of the franchise\u2019s icons still unsure about returning next season.<\/p>\n

According to PhillyVoice Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski<\/a>, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio<\/a> informed the Eagles after the 2025 season that he planned to retire, but the team\u2019s brass has convinced him to stay for another season. Despite those intentions, The Philadelphia Inquirer <\/a>and NFL Network<\/a> both reported that Fangio could still ultimately retire.<\/p>\n

If that were to happen, the Eagles could be in trouble. <\/p>\n

Fangio transformed Philadelphia\u2019s defense<\/a> into an elite unit in his first season last year. It\u2019s a big reason why the Eagles won a Super Bowl last February and reached the playoffs again this past season. It would be difficult to make a run without Fangio next season, but the Eagles must be prepared for that possibility.<\/p>\n

Before convincing Fangio to return, the Eagles reached out to former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and checked on the availability of another former Philadelphia DC, Jim Schwartz, according to Kempski. <\/p>\n

Gannon has since taken the Packers\u2019 DC job, and Schwartz reportedly wants to leave Cleveland after being passed over for the head-coaching role. <\/p>\n

The Eagles likely still have a list of potential candidates who could replace Fangio if he changes his mind.<\/p>\n

Here are five names who could make sense:<\/p>\n

Jim Schwartz<\/a><\/p>\n

At the top of the list would be Schwartz, who served as the Eagles\u2019 DC when the team won its first Super Bowl during the 2017\u201318 season. Over the last three years, Schwartz has enjoyed even greater individual success as the Browns\u2019 DC, helping Cleveland finish with top-five defenses in two of those seasons. The biggest challenge in bringing Schwartz back would be reinstalling a new defensive scheme.<\/p>\n

Former Bills head coach Sean McDermott<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the past few years, McDermott\u2019s defenses have underperform, though personnel issues deserve more of the blame than his scheme. <\/p>\n

McDermott, who is still respected as one of the best defensive minds in the NFL, coached in Philadelphia from 2001 to 2010, spending his last two years as the team\u2019s defensive coordinator. He probably wouldn\u2019t be as strong of a choice as Schwartz, but he\u2019s not a bad fallback option.<\/p>\n

Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann<\/a><\/p>\n

The Eagles interviewed Schumann after the 2023 season for their DC job, but they ultimately chose Sean Desai for that role. If Fangio retires soon, they could revisit with Schumann. <\/p>\n

Schumann, who has led one of college football\u2019s top defenses since 2019, would reunite with several former Georgia players now on the Eagles\u2019 roster. His main drawback is his lack of NFL experience.<\/p>\n

Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurtt<\/a><\/p>\n

The first of two in-house options, Hurtt could be considered for a promotion if Fangio leaves. However, he has already interviewed for the Dolphins\u2019 defensive coordinator job, so he might not be available to the Eagles by the time Fangio makes his final decision.<\/p>\n

Hurtt has turned Philadelphia\u2019s interior defensive line into one of the league\u2019s best units over the past two years. Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter became an All-Pro last year, Jordan Davis developed into a borderline All-Pro this past season and Moro Ojomo has emerged into one of the league\u2019s most impactful interior pass rushers.<\/p>\n

Eagles linebackers coach Bobby King<\/a><\/p>\n

King is one of the league\u2019s best linebackers coach, helping career special teamer Zack Baun develop into an All-Pro last season. Nakobe Dean has also blossomed into a star under his coaching. If promoted, King could maintain Fangio\u2019s system, keeping the linebackers as the main focal point of the defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Eagles have to be ready to pivot at any moment, with one of the franchise\u2019s icons still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2068],"tags":[102213,25,7,6,31185,242,109,2476],"class_list":["post-722081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-eagles","tag-0d6a1282","tag-eagles","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-nflraw25","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-philadelphiaeagles"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115997057138334437","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}