by After the Eagles’ narrow loss in Super Bowl LVII Jonathan Gannon stayed in Arizona for his Cardinals interview. The sophomore defensive coordinator has made so much steam for Arizona HC’s appearance that he appears to be the favorite.
Gannon has been on the Cardinals’ radar for a while, and the Eagles are at least trying to keep him. The NFC champions have been trying to convince Gannon to stay as their DC, notes SI.com’s Albert Breer. Gannon was a Texans finalist last year, but the Cardinals were the only team that seriously considered him this year.
Although the cardinals’ search had apparently fallen short Lou Anarumo And Mike Kafka Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, who is heading into Super Bowl LVII, adds that there have been rumors about their interest in interviewing Gannon and Eagles OC Shane Steinen for a while. Gannon and New Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort, per Vacchiano, have been friends for a while, although they’ve never worked together. Steichen is on track to become the Colts’ next head coach.
The Eagles had deployed Vic Fangio as defensive adviser throughout the season, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter), and the accomplished defensive coach had planned to stay in Super Bowl LVII throughout. This arrangement prevented his Dolphins performance from becoming official for a while. Fangio, who signed a three-year contract worth more than $4.5 million per season, is now considered the NFL’s highest-paid defensive coordinator. He probably would have been the best option to replace Gannon, Breer adds, but several teams expressed interest before the Philly DC vacancy became likely. The 49ers also appeared to have Fangio as their top pick, but the Dolphins’ bid won.
Should Gannon become the Cardinals’ next HC, Vacchiano notes the Eagles’ passing game coordinator Dennard Wilson would be a natural replacement candidate. Wilson, 40, has been the NFL DBs coach since 2015, serving in that capacity with the Rams, Jets and Eagles. He applied for a job with the Browns in DC earlier this year and saw him go to ex-Eagles DC Jim Schwartz.
Steichen and Gannon, both leaving, would make the Eagles the first team to have both coordinators get HC jobs since the 2013 Bengals, who lost Jay Gruden And mike room. The Cardinals have been on this HC quest for a while, and their job could end up being the last one to be filled. The team saw Brian Flores – a reported finalist – bows out of the race and a higher profile target Sean Payton chose the Broncos. Dan Quinn also withdrew from several searches while DeMeco Ryans canceled his Cardinals and Colts interviews. France landed in Carolina. It is not known how far Reich would advance in the Arizona search, but that process has now dragged on into a sixth week.
