The San Francisco 49ers will be building a new coaching staff in the coming weeks, and apparently there was some thought to bringing in an old friend. Matt Barrows is reporting the 49ers were interested in bringing back Vic Fangio to be defensive coordinator. Barrows tweeted that the Bears blocked the move (Fangio remains under contract).
Sometimes a coach or executive will ask the team to deny the request. It is certainly possible that was the case here given Fangio’s history, but he is also a proverbial “straight-shooter.” He does not strike me as one to play games in that regard.
The Bears defenses under Fangio have not been particularly good, although their DVOA numbers improved from No. 31 in 2015 to No. 22 in 2016. They had a lot of injuries that Bears fans point to when discussing the defense.
It is unknown if Kyle Shanahan suggested Fangio or how this all came about. But given Shanahan’s age and offensive focus, it would not be surprising to hear he would push for an experienced defensive coordinator. The DC is likely going to serve as effectively the head coach of the defense. It would make sense to have someone with extensive experience to captain that side of the ball for Shanahan.