Jonathan Gannon shockingly reveals the Eagles tried their best to keep him in Philly after the Colts signed their OC
Jonathan Gannon is excited for his new role as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
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Jonathan Gannon (Image via Bleeding Green Nation)
The Philadelphia Eagles had a great and highly productive season in 2022. They kicked off the season with a strong start and maintained their momentum until the end. They clinched the division title, the NFC’s No.1 seed, and the conference championship to advance to the Super Bowl. In the end, they came up short against the Chiefs who played just a little better than them and took home the Lombardi Trophy.
Head coach Nick Sirianni had started off his stint in Philadelphia with an unflattering interview where he mispronounced most of his bosses and fumbled while explaining his vision bounced back harder in his second season and took his team to the Super Bowl. Since then Sirianni has put together a great coaching unit with Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen, both of whom he previously worked with.
Now, Shane Steichen who served as the offensive coordinator has been named the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will be the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Sirianni has his job cut out for him and needs to recreate the same magic his coaching team did in the 2022 season this year.
Jonathan Gannon went to Arizona because of Kyler Murray
Jonathan Gannon was heavily criticized after the Eagles lost Super Bowl LVII by a mere three points. Despite having a 10-point lead, Philly’s defense wasn’t able to contain Patrick Mahomes and the offense. Except for the subpar performance at the Super Bowl, Gannon had a pretty great year as his defense was one of the most feared in the league and ended up in the Top 3. After losing the Lombardi Trophy, Gannon still got to celebrate because he got the head coaching gig at Arizona.
While talking with Peter King of ProFootballTalk, he revealed that he stayed back in Arizona to interview for the job vacancy. The Eagles had already lost their offensive coordinator to the Colts and they weren’t ready to lose another key member of their team and offered more money to Jonathan Gannon to not leave the Eagles. “I loved Philly. I love Mr. Lurie [owner Jeffrey Lurie]. I love Howie Roseman. I love Nick Sirianni. They came back and they were like, here’s a new offer. It’s gonna pay you more than being a head coach. That’s cool and I loved it there but I wanted to be a head coach,” he said.
One of the main reasons why Gannon said no to the Eagles’ lucrative offer and decided to go to Arizona was because of quarterback Kyler Murray. The 40-year-old head coach said, “If Kyler Murray isn’t here, I don’t take this job. I think this offense will look much different. This guy does things that it completely handcuffs you how you play defense – at times. I think we can take him to another level and unleash his full skill set. We’re not gonna put him in gun all the time, I’ll tell you that.”
Jonathan Gannon will have to work double time as the Cardinals went from being one of the top teams in the NFC to the worst in the span of two years. The Cardinals 2022 campaign ended with a 4-13 record, the third worst in the league. Arizona has the third overall pick in the upcoming draft which will help them to draft an elite player onto their roster.
Gannon was quite confident when he said no to a high-paying defensive coordinator gig and wanted to be a head coach. Let’s see how he fairs in his first year at Arizona!
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