Vic Fangio has been around professional football for a long time. He’s seen a ton of great players come across his path during that time. Several of them of the pass rusher variety. He spent a couple years in Carolina with eventual Hall of Famer Kevin Greene. For the first part of their time together, Aldon Smith was a dominant force in San Francisco when Fangio was defensive coordinator there.
Now he gets the opportunity to coach one of the best in the business in Khalil Mack. The superstar pass rusher was acquired in the blockbuster trade with the Oakland Raiders where the Bears sent two 1st round picks and two later round picks in exchange for the 27-years old, a 2nd round pick and a conditional 5th. It was a high price to pay, but one the team felt was worth it.
It’s been three games and already people agree. Mack has four sacks, three forced fumbles, and a pick-six touchdown. He’s been a one-man force of devastation. Fangio admitted that he had heard the edge rusher was good but had never actually watched him on tape until the Bears acquired him. When he finally sat down to watch, the veteran coordinator immediately saw visions of another past great.
Vic Fangio admits he sees elements of Rickey Jackson in Mack
Dan Pompei of The Athletic spoke with Fangio about what it’s like having Mack on the team. Among the many benefits included is the no longer having to blitz out of necessity. There’s also the ability to move the pass rusher around to find good matchups. When asked about who he reminds Fangio of, the name dropped was quite high praise.
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“I knew of his accolades and what he had achieved, but I had never watched him on tape before the trade,” Fangio said. “I never had occasion to watch Oakland’s defense, so I didn’t know much about him.”
What he found out is Mack reminds him a little of a player he coached three decades ago in New Orleans. Rickey Jackson now has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“They both play with a combination of speed and power,” Fangio said.
Jackson was one of the first to truly revolutionize the outside linebacker position in the 3-4 defense. He arrived the same year as New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor. The fact that Mack has now been compared to both of those men is the highest of praise. Jackson retired with 131 sacks in his career and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Most see Mack ending up there whenever his NFL career ends down the road. Hopes are high he’ll be doing so in a Bears uniform, furthering the already rich legacy of great defenders they’ve sent to Canton. Fangio doesn’t seem the least bit skeptical about that possibility, and he would know.
