National Football League

Bears' Fangio: 'The first job is to make the players you already have better'

Published May. 11, 2015 11:43 a.m. ET

foxsports

When Vic Fangio took over the helm of the Chicago Bears' defense his goal was to not only remake the defensive unit, but to change its structure.

Fangio converted the Bears from a base 4-3 defense to a base 3-4 defense, and that means he needed to find players who could fit in the type of scheme he was employing. Fangio knew that the solution would go beyond blowing up the defense and grabbing all new players, according to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

"We're going to have to make our own building blocks," he told the paper on Saturday, the first time he made any public comments since he was hired in January. "But I think any time you come to a new place, the first job is to make the players you already have better."

Fangio employs a lot of flexibility in his base 3-4, a big part of the reason John Fox hired the former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator according to the Sun-Times. "I think he's an excellent teacher," Fox told the paper, referring to Fangio. "[He] understands the game of football."

(h/t Chicago Sun-Times)