Lindsey ThiryESPN3 minute read
Vic Fangio: Renaldo Hill has a bright future in the NFL
Vic Fangio explains why he wanted to add Renaldo Hill to his defensive team in Miami.
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Chargers defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill is leaving Los Angeles to reunite with Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Fangio confirmed Hill’s addition to Miami’s defensive staff on Monday, but did not comment on his specific role. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Hill would be the Dolphins’ defensive passing coordinator.
“First and foremost, Renaldo is a good coach,” Fangio said on Monday. “Truly, a talented coach with a bright future in the NFL. He worked with us for two years in Denver, so his familiarity with me and the system and what we do was important to me. But regardless of that, just his ability to be a great coach, that’s what attracted me to him.”
The Chargers are promoting secondary coach Derrick Ansley to defensive coordinator and Tommy Donatell to secondary coach, a source has confirmed to ESPN. NFL Network first reported the promotions.
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is expected to continue calling plays.
Staley allowed Hill, 44, to move to Miami out of respect for Hill and Fangio, whose assistant Staley served for three seasons from 2017 to 2019 with the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos. Hill worked as a defensive backs coach under Fangio with the Broncos in 2019 and 20.
Staley hired Hill as defensive coordinator in 2021 when the Chargers named him head coach.
Hill, who was a defensive back in the NFL for 10 seasons, played for the Dolphins from 2006 to 2008. He also served as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Dolphins in 2018.
Ansley, 41, has spent the past two seasons as the Bolts’ secondary coach. This will be his first opportunity as the NFL’s defensive coordinator, a position he held at the University of Tennessee for two seasons.
Over the past two seasons, the Chargers’ defense has ranked 26th in the NFL, allowing an average of 24.79 points per game. Last season, the Chargers appeared to make significant progress in the streak as the unit improved from averaging 22.6 points (ranked 21st) to 15 points (ranked third) during their last five games.
Hill’s departure is the latest upheaval for the Chargers coaching staff. Los Angeles’ 10-7 season ended with a disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a playoff game in which they lost a 27-point lead. The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replaced him with former Dallas Cowboys coordinator Kellen Moore. They are also in the process of hiring Doug Nussmeier to their offensive team, sources told ESPN, after firing quarterbacks coach Shane Day.
The Dolphins officially hired Fangio as their new defensive coordinator last week.
ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.