After being released from his contract in San Francisco to pursue other opportunities, former 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will interview with Washington for the club’s defensive coordinator job, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, who tweets that a meeting could happen on Saturday.
A report earlier this week suggested that Washington intended to hire Chargers linebackers coach Joe Barry as its new defensive coordinator. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who originally reported that Barry would likely be hired after Raheem Morris was eliminated from contention, suggests things changed when Fangio became available. Per Rapoport, Fangio’s biggest advocate in Washington is new general manager Scot McCloughan (Twitter links).
As Rapoport points out, Fangio has no ties to either head coach Jay Gruden or GM Bruce Allen, whereas Barry worked with both men years ago in Tampa Bay. So if the team were to hire Fangio, it would be a departure of sorts from the usual operating procedure.
Fangio should have several potential suitors, with a report yesterday indicating that every team with an opening at defensive coordinator had expressed interest in the veteran coach. Still, as we saw yesterday when Washington moved quickly to hire Bill Callahan away from the Cowboys, the team appears ready and willing to shell out the money required for top-notch assistants. Fangio had been one of the league’s highest-paid defensive coordinators in San Francisco, so he likely won’t come cheap.