In the NFL, fortunes can change in an instant.
For San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, he went from possible head coach to seeking employment elsewhere in the blink of an eye when the 49ers announced Wednesday that they would be promoting defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, past Fangio and up to the franchise's top spot.
Fangio is not expected to remain with the team under Tomsula, according to Can Inman of the Bay Area News Group and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com
Could the Washington Redskins, who parted ways with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett after the season, be the perfect fit for Fangio were he to move elsewhere in the NFL, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports opines?
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Fangio has already drawn interest from the team.
It makes sense in the fact that Fangio is a proponent of the 3-4 - the base defensive alignment the Redskins used under Haslett during his five-year tenure and the scheme which best fits the talent already in place.
It also makes sense in the fact that, in Fangio's four years as defensive coordinator, the 49ers enjoyed immense success. Since 2011, they have finished fourth, third, fifth and fifth in the NFL in yards allowed per game.
In that same span, they ranked second, second, third and tenth in total points.
This past season, a severely down year for the entire Niners organization and facing a number of injuries and suspensions to star players, they still allowed an average of only 21.2 points per game, good enough for tenth in the league.
The Redskins, meanwhile, finished this season ranked 20th in defensive yardage and tied for third in most points allowed.
In 2010, Haslett's first year on the job, they finished second to last in yards allowed per game. In 2012, they gave up the fifth most yards in the league.
The Skins were rumored to have been close to hiring San Diego Chargers linebacker's coach, Joe Barry, but the report was refuted by a number of people within the organization, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post.
Defensive back's coach Raheem Morris was said to be a candidate along with former NFL head coach Eric Mangini.
But with the 49ers' announcement today that Tomsula will be the man taking over for Jim Harbaugh, and with Fangio not expected to return to the team, the former Niners defensive coordinator should shoot to the top of their list of potential hires.
