Vic Fangio and Jeff Stoutland must work their magic again to save the Eagles’ season

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland built their reputations by working miracles. Given the state of their entire defense and the struggling offensive line, this season is turning out to be a tougher task than anyone anticipated.

Both are among the highest-paid coaches at their positions. The Eagles are 4-2, and the two losses largely happened because their units underperformed. If the Birds manage to mount a decent defense of their Super Bowl championship, Fangio and Stoutland will have more than earned their money.

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When veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith abruptly announced his retirement on Monday morning, Fangio’s cupboard got a lot barer. Unless there is an 11th-hour trade, he will have a stable of just four healthy edge rushers, all of whom come with caveats.

Jalyx Hunt is a second-year player with three sacks since he began to get regular playing time 22 games ago, including playoffs. He has zero sacks in six games this season. Joshua Uche had 11½ sacks with New England in 2022, his third year in the NFL, but he has just nine sacks outside of that season, and he hasn’t had a sack in a calendar year. Azeez Ojulari had six sacks with the New York Giants last season but couldn’t get on the field for the Eagles until two other edge rushers got hurt, and Patrick Johnson has just one sack, ever.

Only six teams have fewer than the Eagles’ nine total sacks, which is 1½ sacks per game. That’s about one full sack per game less than the average last year, but last year, defensive end Brandon Graham was spectacular in his farewell tour season. Granted, he had only 3½ sacks in his 11 games (he was injured and didn’t finish the regular season), but his presence attracted key blockers and opened up lanes for teammates.

Again, that was a farewell tour. And no, there’s no indication that he has any inclination to return. The cavalry isn’t coming.

Does Fangio need it?

Fangio’s fame is rooted in quickly developing unheralded players and/or young players. Last year, he made stars of rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, as well as veteran linebacker Zack Baun. Edge rusher Nolan Smith flashed the talent that made him a first-round pick in 2023, but Smith has been injured since Game 3, and he’s expected to miss at least two more games. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, in his third season, became the leader of the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

Dean returned last week from a knee injury suffered in the playoffs, but he played only special teams. Reinserting him as a starter might mitigate the loss of Smith. It also should push first-round rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell, Dean’s replacement, out to the edge more frequently.

The challenges:

Fangio must begin to pressure quarterbacks. Can he make that happen with the return of Dean, who is an excellent blitzer? Campbell has seen time at edge already; can he start delivering?

On the back end, can Fangio make rookie safety Drew Mukuba more dependable? Fangio has already apparently admitted defeat in his attempt to make Kelee Ringo a viable corner in his third season. Can he squeeze another decent season out of Adoree’ Jackson? He’s in his ninth season, and resurrecting careers is not Fangio’s forte.

When the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, former fifth-round pick Halapoulivaati Vaitai replaced future Hall of Fame left tackle Jason Peters in Game 7.

When the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, former seventh-round pick Jordan Mailata, once a rugby player in Australia, was the starting left tackle and a second-team All-Pro. Mekhi Becton also started on that offensive line, but he started at right guard, a position he refused to play with the New York Jets. So far, Tyler Steen, a third-year, third-round pick who replaced Becton, who left via free agency, has been another feather in Stoutland’s cap.

These are among the greatest accomplishments of Stoutland’s 13 seasons with the Eagles. Sprinkled among them are players like guard Stefen Wisniewski, who started 14 games on the 2017 championship team, including all three playoff games; he would start just 19 more times in his career, including playoffs.

Vaitai and Wisniewski were ready. So far this season, that has not been the case with the O-line understudies.

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When right tackle Lane Johnson got injured in Game 3, his backup, Matt Pryor, was so bad that the Eagles had to use Fred Johnson, whom they’d reacquired via trade at the end of training camp.

When Landon Dickerson got injured in Game 5 and missed Game 6, his backup, Brett Toth, struggled.

This is not meant to demean the reserves. It’s meant to highlight that, so far, Stout has not worked the miracles he has worked in the past.

But that’s what Stoutland is paid to do.

Can he do it again?