The Arizona Cardinals head-coaching search is over. The team has agreed to terms with Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be its next leading man. This comes just days after Gannon had coached Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII, falling to Kansas City, and, more recently, after an interview with the franchise about the open position Monday.
Gannon beats out other reported finalists in New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Gannon, who just finished his second season as the Eagles DC, had his unit playing at historic or league-leading levels in 2022. Philadelphia totaled 78 sacks including the playoffs, the third-most in NFL history in a single season, trailing only the 1984 Chicago Bears (82 sacks) and the 1985 Bears (80). The reason for this is that the Eagles are the only team in NFL history to have four players this season who all recorded at least 10 sacks in the regular season -- Haason Reddick (16.0), Javon Hargrave (11.0), Brandon Graham (11.0) and Josh Sweat (11.0). Naturally, the Eagles led the NFL with an 11.2% sack rate in 2022, meaning they sacked opposing quarterbacks on more than 10% percent of their pass attempts. No other team had a rate above 9%.
The 39-year-old defensive coordinator also got top-tier performance out of his secondary. Cornerback Darius Slay has made the Pro Bowl in each of Gannon's years as the DC, new Eagles cornerback James Bradberry -- a cap casualty this past offseason as he was released by the New York Giants -- had a 44.5 passer rating in coverage, the best among 49 players with 75 or more passes thrown their way, and new Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson's six interceptions are tied for the most in the league this season.
The Eagles ranked in the top 10 in numerous statistical metrics in 2022.
Eagles defense in 2022 regular season under Gannon
| Eagles Defense | Stats | NFL Rank |
|---|---|---|
Opp PPG | 20.2 | 8th |
Opp Total YPG | 301.5 | 2nd |
Opp Yards/Play | 4.8 | 1st |
Opp Pass YPG | 179.8 | 1st |
Sacks | 70 | 1st |
| Interceptions | 17 | T-4th |
| Opp Passer Rating | 81.6 | 3rd |
Gannon has 15 seasons of NFL coaching experience with each of the last two being his first two at the coordinator level, running the Philadelphia defense. Now, he'll look to bring that defensive prowess to Arizona to help guide a Cardinals team back to postseason contention after a 4-13 season that resulted in the firing of former head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
With Gannon off to Arizona and Shane Steichen hired by Indianapolis, Nick Sirianni and the Eagles are now tasked with replacing both their defensive and offensive coordinator positions before the 2023 season.
