Patriots Rival Shockingly Fires Defensive Coordinator

A New England Patriots rival made a surprising move to its coaching staff.

The Miami Dolphins on Wednesday fired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio after one season, as confirmed by the team. It was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler.

The veteran coach is expected to be signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Miami was 19th in defensive DVOA last season and 15th in defensive EPA. The Dolphins suffered key injuries to the defensive side of the ball with Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Xavien Howard going out at different points in the season.

Philadelphia had an interest in bringing Fangio onto its coaching staff last offseason. The Eagles reportedly fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai this week and let go of Matt Patricia, who took over defensive play-calling in the second half of the season.

“We’ve got a lot of good targets that we’re working through,” Eagles head coach Nick Siranni told reporters about the reports they plan to hire Fangio, per Zach Berman of PHLY.

The Buffalo Bills are trying to retain Joe Brady as offensive coordinator, and the New York Jets will retool their team for Aaron Rodgers’ first full season. So the Patriots don’t seem to be the only AFC East side experiencing major changes this offseason.