Pros, Cons to Potential Jonathan Gannon Hire

The Arizona Cardinals are set to interview Philadelphia Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon on Monday. Here's pros and cons to his potential hire.

Author:
Andrew Harbaugh
Publish date:
Feb 13, 2023 2:17 PM EST

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Arizona Cardinals

Super Bowl Sunday is usually buzzing with news and tidbits surrounding teams who are playing but instead we are hearing a new name pop up in the head coaching search involving the host city.

Both Mike Kafka of the New York Giants and Lou Anarumo of the Cincinnati Bengals have long been finalists for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching vacancy. However, this week owner Michael Bidwill announced they were “pausing” their search till after the Super Bowl.

Yet on Sunday, NFL Media reported that Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has emerged as a strong candidate and will interview with the team today. While there is no idea as to whether he leaves Arizona without the job, it is worth looking at the pros and cons of such a hire.

For Gannon, there is plenty of both.

Pro: We May Finally See Isaiah Simmons Used Properly

Isaiah Simmons was seen as the best defensive player by many in the 2020 NFL Draft. Upon landing in Arizona however, he has never been able to find a strong footing in the team's defense in order to make an impact. With the new coaching staff led by defensive-minded Gannon, that may finally change. We saw what Hasson Reddick was able to do with him in Philadelphia, maybe we finally see some of that out of Simmons.

Cons: No Help for the Offense Yet

Kyler Murray and the offense struggled under Kliff Kingsbury previously after he was expected to bring this team to the next level. Now while writing this there is no report of any offensive coordinator hiring that may come with Gannon but it will be as important as the head coach hire. If they do not land a splash hire, or at worst a safe choice, at offensive coordinator then this hire may flop.

Pros: Impact on Free Agency

With key free agents on the team such as Zach Allen and Byron Murphy, they may like the idea of playing under a defensive head coach. They both had been around for mainly Kliff Kingsbury who didn’t take the defense as seriously as he should have but perhaps the Gannon hire makes an impact. Could be wishful thinking but at this point, everything can help this defense at least help the investment in youth actually return.

Cons: His Super Bowl Performance

While he did go against the next great quarterback in NFL history, Gannon and his Eagles defense had no answers for the Chiefs. The offense gave them 35 points to work with and sadly that still wasn’t enough. Try not to judge him on one game and look at the whole picture, despite it being the Super Bowl.