(Gets into ESPN's 30 for 30 narrator voice). What if I told you the Philadelphia Eagles' championship-caliber defense is fueled by meatballs?

Defensive end Brandon Graham has just about seen it all over his 16-year career, but his first defensive meeting after deciding to unretire in late October was a first even for him.

"I was like, 'Man, what is this?'"

It was his old-school, hard-nosed defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, starting the session by gifting defensive tackle Jalen Carter a dish of meatballs over pasta in a brown paper bag.

"He does a meatball award," explained defensive back Parry Nickerson. "I heard they're pretty fire."

The 67-year-old Fangio has dedicated his life to football. His legendary career has spanned six decades, beginning at his local high school in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in 1979 and zigzagging across the country with stops at 10 different NFL franchises. It has led him back to Philadelphia, where he has overseen the most dominant defense in football over the past two years. His group will look to set the tone for another title run when the Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the wild-card round of the playoffs (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

Fangio's profession doesn't afford him much free time, but he likes his golf and his Philadelphia Phillies (he'll open up his office windows sometimes when they're playing down the street at Citizens Bank Park to gauge how they're faring by the roar of the crowd) and has a passion for family and food.

Those last two go hand-in-hand.

When Fangio's grandparents left from Castiglione, Italy, for Dunmore in 1919, they packed their meatball recipe in their trunk. It was passed down to Fangio's mother, Alice, who passed it down to Fangio. He had the recipe paper laminated and has displayed it in his home at each of his stops.

Some of the details are public knowledge: The meatballs are made of ground beef, ground pork and parmesan cheese. The sauce features a combination of tomato puree and tomato paste.

He has even shown his players a video of him creating the dish at his house. Fangio will make 60-75 at a time, he said, and freeze the leftovers.

When it comes to the special ingredients, though, it's a top-secret operation. He didn't deny that he asks his longtime girlfriend, Kathy Maruyama, to look away at some points during the meatball-making process. He was asked during a Q&A session for the Eagles team website if he could disclose the recipe, to which Fangio replied: "I can but then I'd have to kill you. I don't share it with anybody."

And that includes former players looking to woo the ladies: "I had a player that played for me in Denver this offseason text me, he said he wanted to impress his girlfriend and asked me for the recipe," Fangio said. "And I wouldn't give it to him."

Over the years, Fangio said he has tweaked the recipe a little bit to "even make them better."

He had his Super Bowl-winning defensive staff over to his house this offseason for a dinner featuring his family dish and thought afterward, "You know, maybe we can give an award every week to somebody when we win and give them a plate of meatballs and pasta with my sauce."

Ground rules were established: The tasty morsels would only be given out after a victory, and whoever is dubbed the defensive player of the game by coach Nick Sirianni is not eligible.

The award is handed out at the first defensive meeting of the week following a game, usually Monday, as the unit settles in to review its performance. Anyone who has observed the gruff Fangio will not be surprised to hear the award is delivered with little pomp.

"He just says, 'And here's the meatball player of the game' or whatever," Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean said.

"It's in a brown paper bag, man," added defensive tackle Jordan Davis. "He's a straight Italian dude, for real."

Presentation might be lacking but the reviews are pretty solid.

"They're good meatballs," DeJean said. "The sauce is good. I don't really know how to judge meatballs, I guess. But they were good."

"I give them two thumbs up," Davis said. "You can't let Coach Vic get too big in his head. But he makes a pretty damn good meatball."

"I give him a 7 out of 10. It's pretty good," added Graham, a foodie in his own respect. "At the time he gave it to me [after a two-sack performance against the Las Vegas Raiders], though, the weigh-ins be coming up so I couldn't really indulge in them like I wanted to, because you know the pasta sticks on you. But I definitely ate the meatballs."

Interestingly, of all the players surveyed, the only ones who have tried Fangio's meatballs are those who actually won the award. It's something they want to earn.

"It's like an unspoken thing," said corner Adoree' Jackson. "I don't want to say you play for the meatballs, but you know if you do well it's a good thing because it's recognized by everybody -- everybody claps it up, it's one of those things because not just your coaches, but your brothers out there on the field get to see the hard work you put in.

"I heard they were good but I don't want to try them until I get 'em. That's one of those things I harp myself on: That's for them. You might offer it to me, cool, but I didn't get that mother---er."

This is the first year Fangio has done something like this, and while no one was overstating the significance of a fun gesture such as the "Meatball Award," for some players it's a sign that the coordinator is opening up more.

He'll show his sense of humor from time-to-time by imitating a player's sack celebration or cracking a joke (normally with an outdated reference). He has long made a point to talk to his players about their finances because, as Graham put it, "He doesn't want to see us out here broken and then we can't even pay for our treatment after playing football for a long time. He wants to make sure we're taking care of everything, our bodies, our finances, our minds."

But for the most part, it's all business. His practices can be exhausting and his meetings long and intensive as he pores over every detail of opponent film that could unearth an edge. His communication style is to be short and pointed and that can carry a sting.

"He's always been the no-nonsense, no bulls--- type of person but you can see the softer side of him a little more while still being stern about certain things," Graham said. "I think he's been really cool, taking a deep breath and not relaxing, but you start to know who you're around and you don't have to feel as hard. ... You can tell he's been a lot lighter."

Added DeJean: "I think it's cool to see his personality come out a little bit. We didn't see it a whole lot last year. I think it shows a little bit which is cool to see from him."

Fangio has said he wants Philly to be his last stop and if so, he's writing a hell of a final chapter.

He captured his first Lombardi Trophy last season while guiding the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL -- the first Eagles defense to lead the NFL in yards allowed since the acclaimed 1991 group featuring greats such as Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons and Eric Allen.

Since joining the Eagles in 2024, they rank first in opponent points per game (18.3), defensive efficiency (68.0) and net yards per attempt (5.7) and are second in opponent yards per play (4.9) and yards per game (296.9).

Fangio's scheme has long been imitated across the NFL, including by Philadelphia, which has employed multiple coordinators who have run a version of his system. But having the original has proved invaluable.

"Vic is like Mr. Miyagi and we're all the students," Eagles rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. "He has all the pieces to the chess game. He knows what he wants to do, he knows how to do it, he knows who his players are and he evaluates at a high level."

The Eagles enter the postseason with a 15% chance to make the Super Bowl and an 8% chance to repeat as champions, per FPI. If they pull it off, it's a safe bet that it will be on the strength of Fangio's defense.

"Coach Vic is that dude, man," said Campbell. "He's that guy."

And if they do, maybe it will be meatballs all around.

"First and foremost, I love them. So when I make them, I enjoy eating them myself," Fangio said, explaining the motivation behind keeping up the family tradition. "And I just thought it would be good to share it with the guys."