Originally posted by NYniner85:Originally posted by NCommand:Yeah, I certainly didn't blame Kyle hiring him in year 1 given the circumstances. I was alone on an island this last off season to secure Fangio though (for these very reasons). While great talent can make life easier for a DC esp. if you have a dominant front 4, there still is an art to game planning and in-game scheming and half-time adjustments. Some DC's like Fangio actually scheme for their opponents and a guy like Saleh, does not and instead, stresses execution within the scheme.
That said, finding a great DC that has mastered the art of play calling is hard to find...same concept for offense (which is why Kyle was my #1 choice).
The bears wouldn't let Fangio go...he wasn't available from what I remember.
Also he more than likely wasn't happy about being passed up for a HC job to Tomsula and there was reports of him and Tomsula not getting alone (salt on the wound)
Sources said that Fangio and Tomsula did not get along especially well, and that Fangio was unhappy at being passed over for Tomsula.
They did try to bring in norton jr and I highly doubt it was just to be a mentor for Foster like some said. Kris Richard would have been a great move but that's after the fact. I thought our D improved as the yr went on last yr and didn't think they needed to move on from Saleh.
Who knows now, a lot of players have regressed and some of that blame falls on him.
He actually was available and was interested and rumored to come back here. It's in the Fangio thread Hero started. But Nagy quickly snatched him up...smart guy.
IIRC, there were also a few other more experienced DC's available then too. But fans like yourself, thought the defense was fine and getting better.
I might be the only one who's not surprised by the flop in year 2 (although I didn't expect every player to regress).
Agreed about Norton Jr. I believe he was the fail-safe and probably a sign Lynch wasn't 100% sold on Saleh either. We're stuck now.