Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon Takes Dig at Eagles Media

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon spoke about the difficulties of dealing with the Philadelphia Eagles media.

Author:
Ryan Sanudo
Publish date:
Apr 22, 2023 1:53 PM EDT

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Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals officially unveiled their team uniforms on Thursday, but it didn't come without controversy.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon took part in a question-and-answer session, where he was asked about how he dealt with the media during his two-year tenure as a defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gannon spoke on his experiences with Philadelphia's reporters and claimed the Philly media wanted him fired as he didn't "blitz enough."

"I'm very comfortable talking to the media," said Gannon. "Philly is a very hard media market. We were 9–0 and I did my presser and they say, Coach, we want you fired. And I said, ‘We’re the No. 1 defense in the NFL right now, in every statistical category. Why do you want me fired?’ ‘You don't blitz enough.’”

The 40-year-old Gannon then said he responded at the time with the team's sack total.

"I said, 'Well we lead the league in sacks by 30-plus sacks, so if you want to come call the defense, then you can have at it.'"

Arizona hired Gannon as head coach after he oversaw an Eagles defense last year that was the league's top-ranked pass defense. The season prior, Philadelphia ranked No. 18 in average points allowed per game.

While the Eagles made their way to Super Bowl LVII, Gannon's defense gave up 38 points in their losing effort in the big game to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The end of Gannon's tenure with the Eagles left sour tastes in the mouths of people of Philadelphia.

And now, it'll be a tall task for Gannon in his first year with the Cardinals, who own the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft.