July 30, 2026
Vic Fangio loves to use his press conferences to chime in on the state of the rest of Philly sports every now and then.
After all, he's not just the Eagles' seasoned defensive coordinator. He's a Dunmore, Pa. native, and a coaching original whose career goes back to the Philadelphia Stars in the since well defunct USFL.
So he keeps tabs, and when Fangio spoke to the media for the first time in Eagles training camp Thursday morning at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, the topic of LeBron James to the Sixers did come up.
And that's huge, no matter how you look at it. That's one of the best basketball players of all-time, even at 41 years old, choosing Philadelphia to try and win one last championship, while maybe giving the Sixers their genuinely best chance at it since they last won it all in 1983.
It just isn't Philadelphia's greatest acquisition to Fangio, though.
"Obviously, the Sixers had a great sequence there because it wouldn't have happened without [Jaylen Brown] getting here," Fangio said. "But, it still wasn't the greatest signing or acquisition in Philadelphia sports history."
Fangio then quizzed and joked with the reporters in front of him until they arrived at his answer.
"Pete Rose!" Fangio exclaimed.
And yeah, for the Phillies, that one was huge back in the day, too. When Rose signed ahead of the 1979 season, he was widely believed to be that last piece the Phillies needed to win a World Series after years of repeatedly falling short in the postseason, and in 1980, they finally did, with Rose at the heart of their team.
As a person, he was always polarizing. But as a player, he was the Phillies' big difference maker, and to Fangio, in the history of Philly sports, there's no comparison.
"Not even close," Fangio chuckled. "But if you were born after 1970, you wouldn't know about it."
"So that includes most everybody then," he joked.
Right now, though, everyone knows about LeBron.
The clip from Thursday morning, via NBC Sports Philadelphia:
A better acquisition than LeBron James in Philadelphia sports history?!
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 30, 2026
Vic Fangio has one name in mind. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kHueGiqVZn
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