Bears defensive pieces inherited by Vic Fangio ‘weren't built for anything'

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A storyline that developed over the past couple of weeks was that Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was at odds with coach John Fox. Fangio scoffed at suggestions that a rift existed to the point of his planning to leave the Bears at the end of this season.

The “frustration” part of the story was accurate. But sources familiar with the situation said that Fangio’s true frustration was less anything with Fox than with the magnitude of the rebuilding task that confronted the incoming staff, with a deficient roster left behind by then-GM Phil Emery and the Marc Trestman coaching staff.

That frustration was apparent when the veteran defensive coordinator gave his candid assessment of the landscape on Wednesday. Fangio has consistently downplayed the differences between the 3-4 scheme he and Fox have installed and the 4-3 scheme that Emery drafted for with then-coordinator Mel Tucker.

[SHOP: Gear up Bears fans!]

“I think the scheme thing is overblown because you're playing a lot of nickel [4-man front] right now and the group we inherited wasn't built for the 4-3 either, obviously, by the two years they had prior to us getting here,” Fangio said. “So they weren't built for anything. We had to start at ground zero.”

Despite Emery’s three drafts from 2012-14 ostensibly targeted on defense (seven of the combined top nine picks were on defense, including No. 1’s on Shea McClellin, 2012, and Kyle Fuller, 2014), the 2013 and 2014 units were the first in franchise history to allow more than 6,000 yards for a single season. The two highest points-allowed figures were given up in 2013 (478) and 2014 (442).

Outside linebacker Willie Young was signed as a 2014 free agent and is the only holdover from the Emery-Trestman-Tucker defenses starting for the current regime. Fuller is still sidelined from August knee surgery and not assured of a job when he returns. Cornelius Washington, a sixth-round pick in 2013 as a 4-3 end, added 30 pounds and is part of the rotation on the current defensive line. Other than that...

“You know, when you have our record nothing seems rosy,” Fangio said. “But I think we've made improvements. I think there's only one or two guys that we inherited still playing on defense. And I think those are mainly backups. So there's been a big transition.”

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