Report: Dolphins Make Vic Fangio NFL's Highest-Paid Coordinator

The former Denver Broncos head coach indeed found work again in the NFL.

While the Denver Broncos continue their search for a new head coach, two former men who held the title in recent years haven't had much of a problem generating a market for themselves around the NFL.

The Broncos' head-coach leavings have garnered particular interest in the AFC East. 

Nathaniel Hackett was hired as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator last week, and according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Vic Fangio has been hired by the Miami Dolphins. 

"The Dolphins have agreed to terms with Vic Fangio on a deal that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, per sources. It’s a 3-year deal with a 4th-year team option. Fangio, the former Broncos coach, is one of football’s best defensive minds. Huge get for Mike McDaniel," Pelissero tweeted on Sunday. 

The #Dolphins have agreed to terms with Vic Fangio on a deal that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, per sources.

It’s a 3-year deal with a 4th-year team option. Fangio, the former #Broncos coach, is one of football’s best defensive minds. Huge get for Mike McDaniel. pic.twitter.com/ynCK2BB2xC

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 29, 2023

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When he was under fire in December of 2021, Fangio made it clear that if the Broncos were to fire him, he'd have no trouble finding a job in the NFL. Becoming the league's highest-paid coordinator, though, is quite the coup for the Pennsylvania native. 

It's a nice deal for Fangio, who sat out of the coaching ranks this past season after the Broncos fired him last January. Hired to serve as Denver's head coach back in 2019, Fangio brought that defensive wizardry to the table while the offense floundered on his watch. 

Despite hiring two different coordinators during his three-year stint in Denver, Fangio could not build an offense commensurate with his defensive unit. Bottom line, Fangio couldn't get the quarterback situation right, and at the end of Year 3, on the heels of posting a 19–30 (.388) record as head coach, Denver cut bait, only to hire Hackett less than a month later. 

Both men proved to be in over their heads as head coach. But Fangio has long demonstrated his competency as a defensive czar, holding coordinator positions for the majority of his four-decade-long NFL coaching career. 

Fangio, who now gets to call plays from his preferred perch in the booth after doing so on the sidelines for three years, arrives in Miami as a nice complement to the young, and relatively inexperienced head coach Mike McDaniel. It's no wonder why Miami rolled out the Brinks truck for Fangio, making him the NFL's highest-paid coordinator. 

Fangio's presence will allow McDaniel to keep his focus on the Dolphins' offense, while the other side of the ball is in the hands of one of the most well-respected defensive coordinators of all time. 

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