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Vic Fangio joins John Fox with the Chicago Bears

By Evan Massey

December 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi
December 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi /
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Former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has joined John Fox and the Chicago Bears as their new defensive coordinator.

It is amazing how quickly things can change within a franchise, and the Chicago Bears have proven that already. Even though the offseason hasn’t even officially come yet, the Bears have made two major changes to their coaching staff in preparation for next year.

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First, the Bears decided to fire head coach Marc Trestman after an absolutely disgusting season of football. John Fox mutually agreed to part ways with the Denver Broncos, which made him the primary candidate for the Bears to replace Trestman. They were able to lock him up for a major upgrade at head coach, and they immediately looked like a better team for next season.

Secondly, the Bears were able to bring in one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Vic Fangio was let go by the San Francisco 49ers in a complete cleaning of the coaching staff, and decided to join Fox in Chicago to help turn things around.

Chicago was a terrible defensive team this past year, and ranked just 30th against the pass and 17th against the run. Those numbers aren’t going to win many football games, but Fangio will be an immediate upgrade over Mel Tucker.

There is no question that Fangio had much more to work with in San Francisco than he will with the Bears, but he still led the 49ers to the fifth ranked passing defense and seventh ranked rush defense in the NFL during the 2014 season.

The Bears definitely have a team that is talented enough to make a run at the playoffs next season. Jay Cutler and the offense didn’t play up to par this past season, but the coaching staff was a big reason for that. Adding Fangio defensively will immediately take them to a new level, which will also put a focus on bringing in more defensive talent through either free agency or the NFL Draft.

All of that being said, 2014 was a nightmare season, but they are already beginning to turn things around with the coaching hires. Expect to see them back in the mix to win the NFC North next season.

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