Eagles Stars Give Take On New Coordinators: "Quiet And Laid Back"

Darius Slay said that Vic Fangio is quiet and doesn't think he would hesitate to bench someone, while DeVonta Smith said Kellen Moore is laid back.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio with Mike Quick / John McMullen/Eagles SI

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Quiet and laid back. Those are two words recently used to describe the Eagles new coordinators by Darius Slay about defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and DeVonta Smith about offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

They might be the last words you think of when you think about football coaches. Maybe it’s a stereotype that football coaches should be loud and in charge. Not so with Fangio or Moore. At least not yet. Maybe as they warm up to the players, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses once training camp begins on July 23, their voices will grow and carry.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” said Slay as a guest on Chris Long’s “Green Light Podcast. ”He’s quiet, though. He’s a guy where you gotta go into his office. He’s very detailed. He tells you for every position that needs to be done, how to do it, and goes about his day.”

A couple of days later, DeVonta Smith was asked about Moore before Smith hosted his third annual celebrity softball game in front of approximately 8,000 fans at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown on June 29.

Eagles OC Kellen Moore / John McMullen/Eagles Today

“From the time I've been around him, he doesn’t talk much. He lets you do what you do. If he sees something he needs to correct, he’ll say something, but overall, he doesn’t talk much. He’s laid back.”

Just how laid back? Smith dug a little deeper.

“When he gets up there (in the meeting room), he explains everything,” said Smith. “It’s very detailed of how he wants it. He’s so laid back you wouldn’t necessarily know if you did right or wrong but when you get to the film, he lets you know, he walks you through it, explains it to you.

“Like I said, a laid back person that just kind of walks you through things, teaches you, and shows you how he wants it done.”

That demeanor could change for one or both coaches as the pressures of a season brings begins to mount.

One thing that won’t change for Fangio is his approach – you do things his way or you’re on the highway to the bench. Ask some of those disgruntled Miami Dolphins players last year who were happy to see Fangio depart.

“He seems like the kind of coach like, ‘If you don’t do what I need you to do, I don’t care how much you get paid, I’m benching you,” Slay told Long.

Smith said it’s too soon to tell what Moore may morph into as the season and the 17-game grind gets underway on Sept. 6 in Brazil. The receiver also added that it’s too soon to tell what Moore will be like as a play caller.

“It’s still early to tell how things are going to go and things like that,” he said. “You kind of really don’t know things like that until you start playing actual games and get the flow of how he’s calling things and what he’s calling.

“When you have a new staff coming in there’s always a lot of communication. Everybody is trying to get to know one another, trying to get on the same page. They’re all great coaches. They teach you very well, but like I say, you can’t really make a decision on things like that until you start actually playing.”

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