As the Philadelphia Phillies ride out the aftermath of firing manager Rob Thomson, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio used his press conference to make his disappointment heard—highlighting how many in Philadelphia are still waiting for the rebuild to cli
A lot of Philadelphia sports has felt like waiting for things to turn—so when Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio walked into the final moments of his press conference, his frustration spilled out in a very specific direction: the Phillies’ decision to fire Rob Thomson.
Fangio’s comments landed while the Phillies are still stuck in a tough stretch. Philadelphia started the 2026 season with a 9-19 record, and even after that move, the team is still nursing a .500 mark.
Thomson wasn’t a random hire. He replaced Joe Girardi in 2022, and that change helped deliver the franchise an NL title in that same year. Since then. however. the success didn’t return the same way. and the combination of underperformance and a poor start to 2026 ultimately pushed the organization to make the call. General manager Dave Dombrowski made the decision to fire Thomson after the team’s struggles piled up.
Fangio, meanwhile, is also dealing with the consequences of a season that didn’t match expectations. The Philadelphia Eagles struggled in the regular season and were eliminated in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The 76ers fared a little better before their own postseason ended differently—swept in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
For the Eagles. that offseason impatience matters even more because the blame inside the building didn’t land on Fangio’s side of the ball. Their defensive efforts weren’t the main target. Instead. it was the Eagles’ offense that struggled to get going. with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo getting a ton of flak for uninspiring schemes last year.
The Phillies had their own postseason run, but it didn’t fully change the mood. Philadelphia did make it to the playoffs, only to be eliminated by the short-handed San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round.
That’s why Fangio’s shot carried extra weight in a city where everyone seems to be measuring timing. The Phillies fired Thomson after a season started to unravel in a hurry. Fangio and the Eagles are now hoping to avoid the same kind of slow start that defined Philadelphia’s 2026 stretch.
Looking ahead, the Eagles also have a tougher calendar to navigate in a reshaped NFC. A lot of the teams from last season have improved mightily or kept the same core that won it all. Fangio’s defense. then. isn’t just about stopping plays—it’s about whether they can respond when the competition rises again.
And in Philadelphia, where sports conversations have already turned toward whether decisions were made too early, too late, or just at the wrong moment, one question sits underneath everything: can the next push fix what the last one couldn’t?
MISRYOUM Philadelphia Eagles Vic Fangio Phillies Rob Thomson Dave Dombrowski NFL playoffs 76ers Kevin Patullo San Francisco 49ers Wild Card