Inside Jonathan Gannon’s Vic Fangio-influenced defensive turnaround with the Eagles

Vic Fangio might be the most “Philly” coach to have never coached in Philadelphia.

An eastern Pennsylvania native, the veteran NFL coach is a longtime Phillies fan whose voguish defensive scheme has been the template for Eagles coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s system the last two seasons.

Fangio is currently unemployed — by choice after he was fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos — but the 64-year old’s defense, or some variant of, is being employed by close to one-third of the league’s coordinators.

Gannon didn’t learn it directly from the source, but he now has Fangio on speed dial should he want advice. While it has been reported that he is an Eagles consultant, Fangio doesn’t have an official role, NFL sources said. He also downplayed his involvement in a recent article about his fandom for the local nine.

“What little I do with the Eagles,” Fangio said to The Athletic, “is a little bit of a connection.”

It might be tempting to credit him for the 7-0 Eagles’ defensive turnaround, especially for some who still can’t seem to praise Gannon, but by nearly every estimate the coordinator has his unit among the best in the NFL.

If Gannon was a finalist for three head-coaching vacancies last offseason, it seems only likely that he will snag an opening once the Eagles’ season is over. Interested owners may have to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire him, though.

That may be, more accurately, how Fangio fits into the midnight green picture. When he started popping up at training camp as a guest of coach Nick Sirianni, the optics were ominous if Gannon was indeed on the hot seat following a turbulent first season as coordinator.

Who would you rather have — one theory might have suggested — the coach who runs another guy’s scheme or the guy?

The Eagles may end up with the guy eventually, although Fangio is likely to be the top defensive coordinator on the market come January, for the very reason posited above. In a league in which passing offenses have only gotten more complex, it’s easy to see why a scheme predicated on stopping the big play, at its most elemental, has become so popular.

“That’s a winning stat,” Gannon said Tuesday when asked about limiting explosive plays. “All the stats out there, you guys know I’m not a stat guy, but that’s one that I look at.”

The Eagles’ number of explosive plays allowed — plus-16 yards passing and plus-10 running, by their definition — aren’t actually much better than they were a year ago through seven games when they opened 2-5. Through the air, their improvement is minuscule (24 vs. 26), and on the ground, they’ve done worse (25 vs. 24).

Double-digit second-half leads have played a part in opposing offenses finding space on the ground underneath Gannon’s deep coverages, but it’s not as if the Eagles have faced the quality of quarterbacks they often saw a year ago. There aren’t many opportunities the rest of the way, starting with Thursday night’s game at the 1-5-1 Texans, for Gannon to measure his group’s improvement vs. top-tier passers.

But other defensive numbers, most prominently turnovers — the other statistic Gannon acknowledges — speak for themselves. The Eagles have more turnovers (16 vs. seven), more sacks (22 vs. 11), and are allowing fewer yards per play (4.66 vs. 5.35) and points per game (16.9 vs. 26.4) this season vs. last season at this stage. And in terms of advanced analytics, they’re second in the league in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric.

“I think the level of understanding with what we’re asking them to do,” Gannon said when asked to explain the disparity. “I think that’s the biggest reason for the jump in some of those numbers.”

Fangio’s scheme, especially for the back seven, isn’t for the faint of heart. Gannon has added wrinkles from other systems, but his base quads coverage has manifold built-in adjustments for any alignment or formation a defense may encounter.

It is, in essence, a matchup zone that allows for his defensive backs to play zone with man-to-man principles. Gannon utilized the concept last season, but he has increased its usage this season, according to cornerback Darius Slay.

“He self-scouted,” Slay said. “I think he was like, ‘OK, I feel these guys can pull this stuff off.’ He trusted us to get it done.”

Slay played plenty of matchup zone in Detroit. But the addition of opposite cornerback James Bradberry, who did the same when he was with the Carolina Panthers, was pivotal in Gannon entrusting his secondary with more responsibility.

A high football IQ is imperative. Cornerbacks and safeties must be able to identify route concepts pre- and post-snap and be able to communicate those ideas in an instant if duties are to be passed off. There are also various split coverages, which are often used to cloud coverage toward No. 1 receivers (see: shutting down the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson in Week 2).

» READ MORE: Eagles react to Darius Slay’s lockdown performance: ‘He put one of the best in the league in a car seat’

The flexibility not only allows for countering an offense, but also the defensive backs to still have eyes on the quarterback, likely one reason for the uptick in interceptions (10 vs. six). And perhaps most significant, the presnap look reveals little information to quarterbacks.

“With man [defense], whenever you travel with a receiver, it gives the coverage away too easily,” Bradberry said. “We’ve been doing a good job of disguising and hiding it from the quarterback. And when your front seven is rushing the way it is, the quarterback doesn’t have time to process everything.”

The genius of Fangio’s base coverage, with two-high safety alignment, is that it all looks similar before the snap, and even sometimes after. That is why Gannon’s corners often play off the line. Cover 3 has the same concept — it can look like single-high man — but there aren’t as many possible variants.

Cover 3′s simplicity appealed to some coordinators, but when the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defense had great success with it, others soon followed.

“Anything that’s hopping, it’ll jump,” Slay said. “With Seattle, Cover 3 was hot and everybody wanted to do it. But that was a run-stopping defense. Now it’s more like guys are spreading us out a lot more in the passing game and we have to find ways to adjust.

“There are so many talented quarterbacks that can pass and run, they’re not just standing in the pocket anymore.”

With Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and other top quarterbacks capable of striking quickly, Fangio’s defenses are content with giving them check-down passes and testing their patience. Longer drives typically mean more chances for offenses to make mistakes, but the most accurate passers can execute the quick game.

Gannon ran up against this problem last season as Mahomes, Tom Brady (twice) and eight other quarterbacks completed more than 70% of their attempts vs. the Eagles. No one has eclipsed that bar this season, but there have been more Cooper Rushes than Kyler Murrays under center thus far.

No scheme is perfect. Gannon picked the defense up from his Cleveland-area friend, Brandon Staley, who first brought the Fangio system to the Rams as coordinator and then the Chargers as head coach.

Even old schoolers like Seattle’s Pete Carroll, who promoted Fangio acolyte Clint Hurtt this offseason, have made concessions. The defense may be susceptible to run-heavy offenses, but how many of those are left?

Gannon’s predecessor Jim Schwartz was a stop-the-run-first defensive coordinator. His four-man front mechanics allowed for linemen to penetrate gaps and get in the backfield, and behind them would be waves of reinforcements from linebackers and safeties.

A traditional odd-man front aims to build a wall with linemen responsible for two gaps. Fangio’s fronts split the difference and use a gap-and-a-half technique that allows for primary gap integrity, but also leeway to drop into the secondary gap.

The intent is to account for lighter boxes with two split safeties. Fangio coordinators will often utilize 5-1-5 nickel personnel to marry the front with the back, but that means there is only one second-level linebacker — T.J. Edwards in the Eagles’ case.

It’s a primary reason why the Eagles invested so much in drafting Jordan Davis. The mammoth nose tackle draws blockers and saves Gannon from having to steal from the back. On Wednesday, the rookie was placed on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain on Sunday.

Davis will be out for at least four weeks. Defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Marlon Tuipulotu are his likely replacements in the Eagles’ base front. It’s unclear how Gannon will further account for the loss.

» READ MORE: Jordan Davis’ ankle injury was the lone negative in the Eagles’ victory. How will he be replaced?

Davis’ injury and the potential fallout is a reminder that players, ultimately, win games. But it’s on coaches to put them in positions in which they can succeed. Fangio has done that as well as any defensive coordinator over the last decade.

Gannon has his players believing.

“Everybody is buying in,” Slay said. “We got guys that are willing to sacrifice and don’t care who makes the play. We have d-linemen rotating and playing fewer snaps. We have d-backs taking on harder responsibilities.

“We have guys willing to take the heat so others can have success.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 9 game against the Houston Texans. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday