2:47 p.m. ET
Marcel Louis Jacques ESPN
MIAMI — Former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has reached an agreement with the Miami Dolphins to become the team’s defensive coordinator, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Fangio, 64, was sidelined this season after Denver fired him last January.
Fangio was 19-30 in three seasons as the Broncos coach after being hired in 2019. In Miami, he will be reunited with outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, whom he coached in Denver and who was traded to the Dolphins last season.
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NFL Network first reported that Fangio and the Dolphins had reached an agreement.
Fangio’s defense has finished in the top 10 eight times, most recently with the Chicago Bears in 2018 (No. 3). The Broncos finished eighth overall in 2019, his final season as head coach. He has 19 seasons of experience as a defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Bears.
The Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer earlier this month. When Mike McDaniel was hired as the Dolphins’ head coach last year, he kept Boyer as his defensive coordinator.
Miami possessed the fourth-best running defense in the league in 2022, but also ranked 21st in expected defensive extra points, 22nd in sacks per pass attempt, and 24th in points allowed per game and third-last percentage . A defense that ranked in the top 10 takeaways in each of the previous two seasons struggled to generate turnovers last season and finished with just 14 takeaways — tied on points with the second-lowest in the NFL.
Fangio joins a defense that features several Pro Bowl caliber players, including former All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard and alternates Jevon Holland, Christian Wilkins and Chubb.
He is now the third coach on McDaniel’s staff with head coaching experience, joining quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell and tight ends/assistant head coach Jon Embree.