At 12:01 a.m. January 9th, Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will officially be a free agent. Word persists that the team is working hard to get him signed to a new contract. Their ultimate goal is to hopefully pair his defensive mastery with the incoming offensive expertise of new head coach Matt Nagy. That could be the combination that finally gets this team back to the playoffs.
Unfortunately it’s never that simple. The Bears failed to retain Rod Marinelli back in 2013 when Marc Trestman was hired. As a result they ended up with Mel Tucker as a replacement. That led to the two most disastrous seasons arguably in franchise history for the defense. That’s why Nagy must have backup plans in place if Fangio decides to test the market over the next few days.
The good news? There are some quality names out there to be had in the event that happens. Here are the ones who fit what the Bears do best.
Mike Pettine
Most people remember Pettine these days for his disastrous run as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015. Of course it seems everybody stinks coaching the Browns so maybe he deserves a pass. The fact is before that Pettine was a rising star as a defensive coordinator. From 2009 to 2013 he held that position with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. His units never ranked lower than 10th in total yards allowed and were never lower than 6th against the pass.
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Rex Ryan
Much of Pettine’s success though can be directly attributed to Rex Ryan. After Ryan was the head coach in both New York and Buffalo when Pettine made his surge. Ryan of course is the son of the late, great Buddy Ryan who built the fabled 1985 Bears defense. Like his father the man is brash, aggressive and intelligent when it comes to defensive football. He was a coordinator himself from 2005 to 2008 in Baltimore. During that time the Ravens never ranked lower than 6th and were the #1 unit overall in 2006.
Chuck Pagano
His run as a head coach in Indianapolis started out so well but in the end Chuck Pagano was a victim of a depleted roster and some costly mistakes. That said he still holds plenty of promise as a coordinator. In 2011 he led the Ravens to the #3 ranking in the NFL. While his Colts teams were never as talented, he still managed to get decent play from them. In 2013 they were 9th in points allowed and in 2014 they were 11th overall. He’s known both for an attention to detail and ability to motivate his players.
John Pagano
The younger brother of Chuck. John Pagano ran the defense for the San Diego Chargers from 2012 to 2016. Though he never fielded an elite unit there were some respectable ones. Twice they finished top 10 and in 2016 were 4th in league at takeaways. He also managed to get improvement from the Oakland Raiders defense this past season despite not be named defensive coordinator until the season was already in progress. If there’s one thing that stands out about him? He’s a specialist at crafting pass rushers.
Steve Spagnuolo
The career trajectory of Steve Spagnuolo could at best be called a roller coaster. He’s had some high highs and low lows. His first year as a defensive coordinator in 2007 the New York Giants ranked 7th in the league and won the Super Bowl. Then from 2009 to 2015 as a head coach in St. Louis and coordinator in New Orleans and back to New York his units never ranked higher than 19th and finished 32nd twice. Then in 2016 the Giants jumped up to 10th overall and 2nd in points allowed before falling to 31st this year. It would seem he’s basically a roll of the dice.
