Chicago Bears: Two Ways To Stop Vic Fangio From Leaving
By Erik Lambert
The warning signs are there for people who choose to accept them. Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio appears to be on his way out.
Though he fully intends to do his job in 2017, the fact remains there are more signs of his exit than return in 2018 at this point. For starters he’s in the last year of his contract. Then there’s the lingering rumor that he and head coach John Fox had a frosty encounter last season. It was bad to enough to where expectations that one or the other would be gone by the start of the offseason.
Things were eventually smoothed over but the concerns remain. Word followed that the 49ers were interested in bringing Fangio back and that he’d be open to the idea. Given his importance to the Bears defense, these are not things people want to hear. Not when the team is at such a vital crossroads of development. Fans are hoping he can stick around to keep building his vision.
Based on how things are playing out, the Bears have two options that stand a good chance of getting him to stay. They are as follows.
Promote him
This is pretty much a 100% guarantee. Fangio has been dying to finally get his shot at coaching his own team. He’s been a successful coordinator since the 1990s so really the guy has waited longer than most with his track record should. If the Bears are keen on dumping Fox but don’t want to lose Fangio, then just give him Fox’s job for a year to see if he can keep it.
Hire a head coach he’ll stay for
Losing Rod Marinelli was difficult for the Bears back in 2013. They wanted to keep him but their hire of Marc Trestman as head coach forced him out. He’d been willing to stay if he liked their hire, which should’ve been a red flag at the time. Maybe they can get it right with Fangio. That would mean bringing in somebody he respects. Some possible options? Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw are possibilities, having worked with him at Stanford. He also worked with Rex Ryan in Baltimore. There are options out there, presuming the Bears could lure them in.