Cowboys' top rival's new coach continues dealing with some drama ahead of 2024 NFL season

The Dallas Cowboys 2024 NFL regular season will be - once again - all about racing the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East crown. 

Both squads remain the favorites in the division over the likes of the New York Giants and Washington Commanders but they're far from perfect teams and have some adjustments to make after coaching staff adjustments.

The Cowboys lost Dan Quinn, who led the #1 defense in EPA/play over the three year span he coached in Dallas. Now it'll be up to Mike Zimmer to prove he's still got it as he leads the transition to his scheme.

But the Eagles are not only dealing with changes to both their offensive and defensive coordinator positions, they're also bearing witness to some drama regarding the latter.

You see, Vic Fangio was surprisingly let go by the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason only to see him immediately land with the Eagles, who went through some coaching turmoil defensively after struggles from Sean Desai, who was essentially replaced midseason by Matt Patricia. 

At the time, Fangio arriving to Philly felt like a no-brainer. We know of his schematic prowess and he'll bring his version of a scheme the Eagles have been trying to run for a while now. It's the very scheme that's given Dak Prescott trouble in previous encounters against Fangio. 

However, since his arrival, we've learned more and more about Fangio's reason to leave Miami. Dolphins players took to social media after the fact to throw jabs at the coach suggesting that the locker room didn't like him one bit. Cornerback Cam Smith tweeted an "unlocked" emoji while safety Jevon Holland posted a short video literally kicking rocks.

That reached a whole other level this week when Holland told reporters during OTAs that the biggest difference between Fangio and their new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver "It’s the fact that (Weaver) is a good person that makes a difference.”

Holland called Weaver's arrival a complete 180 compared to the short-lived Fangio days.

That's a brutal review from a former player. One thing is for Jalen Ramsey to be unhappy about his role in Fangio's defense, which kept him from shadowing top receivers like CeeDee Lamb, and a whole different one is to be called a bad person like that.

Ultimately, it'll be up to Nick Sirianni to make sure this doesn't become an issue for the 2024 Eagles but if it does, the Cowboys might have an immediate advantage over their division rival. Locker room dynamics is a fragile thing, especially when there's no love or respect for a coach at such an important position. 

At the very least, it's something to monitor moving forward.