Fangio faces challenges, opportunity in final yr of contract
Jun 10, 2017 6:40:53 GMT -6
riczaj01, britishbearfan, and 1 more like this
Post by GrizzlyBear on Jun 10, 2017 6:40:53 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-bears-vic-fangio-spt-0611-20170610-column.html
God, September cannot come soon enough. 
Vic Fangio faces challenges, opportunity in final year of Bears contract
When Vic Fangio addresses the Bears defense at the mandatory minicamp that starts Monday, the veteran coordinator will look upon a group of 42 players with exactly zero Pro Bowl selections among them.
Whatever emotions that fact stirs in Fangio, at least they won't be new.
The Bears' defense also had that dubious distinction last season. They were and still are the only defense in the NFL without a single Pro Bowl player. Quite extraordinary given the current selection format in which bids are distributed like Halloween candy.
It's a remarkable starting point for Fangio as he enters his 31st NFL season and the final one of his Bears contract. Amid the intense intrigue about the team's quarterback overhaul, Fangio's success this season and his status beyond it are nearly as important to a rebuilding project still striving for continuity.
As the team advanced from the Year 3 starting line over the past few weeks, Fangio recognized the flaws in his undistinguished group and internalized whatever handicaps they entail. He has, after all, proven himself to be a realist through two full seasons on coach John Fox's staff.
And with that perspective, he surely sees through the challenges to the grand opportunity in front of him.
General manager Ryan Pace has constructed a defense that once again depends on Fangio to do the heavy lifting. The Bears used only one draft pick on a defensive player — fourth-round safety Eddie Jackson — and added three starters to the secondary from free agency's second tier.
Within that proving ground, the 58-year-old Fangio can carve his path forward, whether that leads to the head coaching job he ultimately covets or a continuation of his accomplished coordinator career in Chicago or elsewhere.
After the Bears prevented Fangio from leaving this offseason to join the 49ers' new coaching staff, he is attacking his contract year the same way he built his reputation as one of the NFL's top defensive strategists. He's taking a more hands-on approach to coaching outside linebackers — double-teaming them, he said — with new position coach Brandon Staley.
And that makes sense. What better way to increase the Bears' NFL-record-low total of 11 takeaways than by paying closer attention to the pass rushers? Than by doing more detailed work with the team's top defensive prospect, Leonard Floyd?
"If you know Vic, his personality is real calm and laid back, but he's a great play-caller, a great coach, a great teacher and also a great leader," outside linebacker Pernell McPhee said.
"He gives us all the fundamentals towards the game that we need. He puts all his players in the right position because he knows our limitations."
Not that Fangio has a perfect record. Recall that he openly lamented his coverage call on the decisive 60-yard, third-down completion in a Dec. 18 loss to the Packers that was one of the most demoralizing moments of a 3-13 season.
But with a body of work spanning three decades, Fangio has drawn players' praise for how he positions them, beginning with Saints Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson and including the stars he coached in four successful seasons with the 49ers before coming to the Bears.
"It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out," outside linebacker Willie Young said. "This will be our first year working hands-on with Coach Vic. From his past, obviously he's worked with some Hall of Famers, All-Pros, Pro Bowl guys. A-to-Z, he's had those guys. So we obviously … know that he has the experience and the knowledge to get us where we want to be."
Through two seasons, that experience and knowledge have produced progress. In fairness, things couldn't have gotten much worse after this regime inherited the worst defense in franchise history. But last season, with a roster lacking star power, the Bears ranked 15th in the NFL in yards allowed per play and eighth in sacks per pass attempt.
Ultimately, though, those positive indicators were undercut by the paltry takeaways total. Meanwhile, his relationship with Fox came under scrutiny.
While injuries at all three levels of the defense were a hindrance, the team also recognized personnel shortcomings, prompting the acquisition of cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper and safety Quintin Demps. But bringing in new players comes with separate difficulties.
"Although it's our third year here," Fangio said May 13, "it's going to be the first year for a lot of guys, so you don't have that foundation already built."
Fangio and his staff will have to cobble that together again and, in the process, cultivate playmaking prowess. Pace's disciplined approach to free agency and offensive slant to the recent draft could be interpreted as trust in Fangio to develop the talent the Bears acquired with greater investments in previous offseasons.
Fangio has done it before, most recently in San Francisco with Aldon Smith, who was named first-team All-Pro in 2012, one year after he was drafted seventh overall.
That example turns the spotlight back to Fangio's position room, where Floyd is such a vital component to the whole operation. (Floyd has not been made available to reporters this offseason.)
"If he stays healthy," Fangio said, "I feel good about him."
With that as one of many conditions for success this season, Fangio was justified last month in following Fox's lead, trying to under-promise and over-produce. "We'll see," Fangio repeated over and over.
If the defense makes major strides, it would amount to some of Fangio's finest work. In that case, his status next offseason would become paramount to the Bears' direction. In the meantime, he'll be teaching and scheming with his sleeves rolled up.
Whatever emotions that fact stirs in Fangio, at least they won't be new.
The Bears' defense also had that dubious distinction last season. They were and still are the only defense in the NFL without a single Pro Bowl player. Quite extraordinary given the current selection format in which bids are distributed like Halloween candy.
It's a remarkable starting point for Fangio as he enters his 31st NFL season and the final one of his Bears contract. Amid the intense intrigue about the team's quarterback overhaul, Fangio's success this season and his status beyond it are nearly as important to a rebuilding project still striving for continuity.
As the team advanced from the Year 3 starting line over the past few weeks, Fangio recognized the flaws in his undistinguished group and internalized whatever handicaps they entail. He has, after all, proven himself to be a realist through two full seasons on coach John Fox's staff.
And with that perspective, he surely sees through the challenges to the grand opportunity in front of him.
General manager Ryan Pace has constructed a defense that once again depends on Fangio to do the heavy lifting. The Bears used only one draft pick on a defensive player — fourth-round safety Eddie Jackson — and added three starters to the secondary from free agency's second tier.
Within that proving ground, the 58-year-old Fangio can carve his path forward, whether that leads to the head coaching job he ultimately covets or a continuation of his accomplished coordinator career in Chicago or elsewhere.
After the Bears prevented Fangio from leaving this offseason to join the 49ers' new coaching staff, he is attacking his contract year the same way he built his reputation as one of the NFL's top defensive strategists. He's taking a more hands-on approach to coaching outside linebackers — double-teaming them, he said — with new position coach Brandon Staley.
And that makes sense. What better way to increase the Bears' NFL-record-low total of 11 takeaways than by paying closer attention to the pass rushers? Than by doing more detailed work with the team's top defensive prospect, Leonard Floyd?
"If you know Vic, his personality is real calm and laid back, but he's a great play-caller, a great coach, a great teacher and also a great leader," outside linebacker Pernell McPhee said.
"He gives us all the fundamentals towards the game that we need. He puts all his players in the right position because he knows our limitations."
Not that Fangio has a perfect record. Recall that he openly lamented his coverage call on the decisive 60-yard, third-down completion in a Dec. 18 loss to the Packers that was one of the most demoralizing moments of a 3-13 season.
But with a body of work spanning three decades, Fangio has drawn players' praise for how he positions them, beginning with Saints Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson and including the stars he coached in four successful seasons with the 49ers before coming to the Bears.
"It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out," outside linebacker Willie Young said. "This will be our first year working hands-on with Coach Vic. From his past, obviously he's worked with some Hall of Famers, All-Pros, Pro Bowl guys. A-to-Z, he's had those guys. So we obviously … know that he has the experience and the knowledge to get us where we want to be."
Through two seasons, that experience and knowledge have produced progress. In fairness, things couldn't have gotten much worse after this regime inherited the worst defense in franchise history. But last season, with a roster lacking star power, the Bears ranked 15th in the NFL in yards allowed per play and eighth in sacks per pass attempt.
Ultimately, though, those positive indicators were undercut by the paltry takeaways total. Meanwhile, his relationship with Fox came under scrutiny.
While injuries at all three levels of the defense were a hindrance, the team also recognized personnel shortcomings, prompting the acquisition of cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper and safety Quintin Demps. But bringing in new players comes with separate difficulties.
"Although it's our third year here," Fangio said May 13, "it's going to be the first year for a lot of guys, so you don't have that foundation already built."
Fangio and his staff will have to cobble that together again and, in the process, cultivate playmaking prowess. Pace's disciplined approach to free agency and offensive slant to the recent draft could be interpreted as trust in Fangio to develop the talent the Bears acquired with greater investments in previous offseasons.
Fangio has done it before, most recently in San Francisco with Aldon Smith, who was named first-team All-Pro in 2012, one year after he was drafted seventh overall.
That example turns the spotlight back to Fangio's position room, where Floyd is such a vital component to the whole operation. (Floyd has not been made available to reporters this offseason.)
"If he stays healthy," Fangio said, "I feel good about him."
With that as one of many conditions for success this season, Fangio was justified last month in following Fox's lead, trying to under-promise and over-produce. "We'll see," Fangio repeated over and over.
If the defense makes major strides, it would amount to some of Fangio's finest work. In that case, his status next offseason would become paramount to the Bears' direction. In the meantime, he'll be teaching and scheming with his sleeves rolled up.
