You hear this all of the time. It bears repeating whether you’re a casual Philadelphia Eagles fan or a football junkie like the rest of us. The game is about matchups, and this coming Sunday, the Wild Card Round offers one that is hard to ignore. The offensive wizardry of Kyle Shanahan meets the defensive genius of Vic Fangio.
Okay, let’s back up for a second. There may not be any such thing as a ‘casual Eagles fan.’ Don Mattingly has joined the Phillies. The 76ers have a couple of young stars. The Flyers rewarded Christian Dvorak with an extension.
All of that has taken a back seat to this Wild Card Round game featuring the NFC East champions and the San Francisco 49ers. Former Eagle and 94 WIP-FM mainstay Jon Ritchie is on record. He believes Kevin Patullo should be given his walking papers if Philadelphia’s offense disappoints.
It’s easy to see where he’s coming from. San Francisco’s offense is depleted. They even signed a former Eagles linebacker to ensure they’ll have enough bodies. Still, as interesting as it will be to watch Kevin Patullo match wits with Robert Saleh, the Kyle Shanahan-Vic Fangio dynamic is equally fascinating, if not more so, for a myriad of reasons.
Vic Fangio trades fond 49ers memories for the desire to clobber the Eagles’ coming Wild Card Round opponent.
For four seasons (2011-14), Vic Fangio was the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator. Jim Harbaugh was the team’s head coach. During that time, they played their way into three NFC Championship Game appearances.
They won their second, but they lost Super Bowl XLVII to Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens. Coach Fangio still has fond memories of his time in the Bay Area.
Vic Fangio spent four seasons with the 49ers (2011-14). He now looks to beat them as Eagles DC in the Wild Card Round on Sunday… pic.twitter.com/7cCt2vKsBo
— Geoffrey A Knox ‘GQ’ (@GQ_4_Eva) January 7, 2026
Warm fuzzy feelings aren’t expected. These proud organizations harbor some bad blood. There are so many subplots surrounding the Eagles-49ers clash that it’s impossible to pay enough attention to all of them.
We could literally discuss Kyle Shanahan vs. Vic Fangio for hours. Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough time to give the matchup the proper attention. We’d need 30-hour workdays, so consider these next few days make-up dates.
This could be the game within the game that decides the contest. Don’t be shocked if the game ends with the Eagles’ defense on the field needing a stop against the 49ers’ offense.
That has been a theme several times this season, and based on the way Kevin Patullo’s offense has hung Fangio and company out to dry time and time again. That could write a finish to a wild, wild affair in the City of Brotherly Love.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Vic Fangio shares fond memories of his four-year stint with the 49ers
