Jonathan Gannon Ringingly Endorsed Kyler Murray And Crushed His First Presser As Cardinals Head Coach
I tell ya, for a guy who just got his ass motherfucking smoked on Super Bowl Sunday, Jonathan Gannon couldn't have presented himself in a much better light in his proper public debut as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Owner Michael Bidwill and new GM Monti Ossenfort were at the podium flanking Gannon as he faced the Canons and other branded cameras and smartphones that don't rhyme with his surname. This man spoke about accountability, what he looks for in the identity of a football team and emphasized that he's not ready to blow everything up and start from scratch.
...But perhaps most importantly, Gannon already seems keen on his most important relationship with face of the franchise Kyler Murray. Bidwill spoke specifically about how Gannon's plan for Kyler helped him stand out above other candidates, and the ex-Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator had glowing words to say about the young quarterback beyond what I shared above — and wasn't just blowing smoke in front of the media, either:
Folks are literally threatening me on social media for being critical of Kyler Murray. Sorry but that's what happens when you're the No. 1 overall pick, you brag about not studying film, you have a contract clause (eventually excised) that requires you to put in a bare minimum time of film study, and multiple people within the organization or with close ties to it publicly or privately put you on blast. Expectations are high.
Then there was the report that head coaching candidates were basically alienated by Kyler and didn't want any part of being tied to him for several years.
It's about to be Year 5 for Kyler, he hasn't won in the playoffs, and he's coming off a torn ACL late in the 2022 season. Now is the chance for him to turn everything around. No longer any handholding or reported hesitancy to hold players accountable like Kliff Kingsbury. Shit is about to get real under Jonathan Gannon.
I've been pounding the drum that new head coaches in the NFL should absolutely be offensive-minded guys who can also call plays. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating a revolving doors of play-callers. In an offense-skewed league, that's not ideal if you don't have continuity and can build on your hopefully-excellent QB's strengths.
Obviously in Arizona's case, the move to do the exact thing I described in the above paragraph with Kingsbury didn't work out. My mostly-facetious blurb about Matt Patricia getting smoked in the Super Bowl, then flaming out as Lions head coach, was something I brought up recently in advocating for Eric Bieniemy's head coaching candidacy, referencing the likelihood that Gannon would, in fact, be hired by the Cardinals.
For a guy who preaches accountability, by the way, Gannon seems intent on putting his personal stamp on his new defense, given his decision to let a respected coordinator and a former head coach in Vance Joseph leave town:
Jonathan Gannon isn't a wordsmith on the level of Mike McDaniel, who will never be dethroned as NFL Head Coach Press Conference Champion. Mike MacDaddy is my dude for that. Always will be. And he's a genius OK I'm getting off topic sorry you came here for the Cardinals to either digitally yell at me or tweak your neck from nodding so hard in agreement…
Seriously though. Introductory press conferences often don't mean shit in the grand scheme of things. However, it's all we have to go off of in the moment. Nick "Systems" Sirianni was totally in over his head when he first addressed the media as the Eagles head coach to the point where I thought he might be fired on the spot and Jeffrey Lurie would stop the show and be like…
Go figure. Sirianni just coached with Gannon in the freaking Super Bowl and spotted the latter a 10-point halftime lead only to watch that advantage evaporate. Gannon was super even-keeled about the whole thing considering how recent it was and humiliating it had to be:
And THAT right there. That steady demeanor, not shying away from one of the lower points of his professional life, is why I believe in Jonathan Gannon. He can look himself in the mirror, recognize he fucked up, articulate it on the spot to a bunch of current strangers and keep smooth sailing on.
I'm more inclined now to think the following: In that Super Bowl, Gannon was facing possibly already the fourth-best QB of all-time in Patrick Mahomes, possibly the GOAT play designer head coach of all-time in Andy Reid, and like I said, the most deserving coordinator who hasn't gotten a head coaching shot yet in Bieniemy. Tough sledding for anyone.
Not gonna lie though, prior to the NFC Championship Game, Gannon might've endeared himself to even the most steadfast of haters:
This presser further drove the point home that Gannon is a damn killer and he's out to kick everyone's ass. Although he may've filled the last vacancy, I think the Cardinals' patience is going to pay off here. Gannon feels like a legit guy who can command a locker room. Obviously saw firsthand how well the Eagles built their roster and culture under Sirianni.
So if Gannon's plan goes to, well, plan and Kyler comes back in due time to play the best ball of his career and live up to that fat contract, Arizona could be a force to be reckoned with in the NFC West. Rams coach Sean McVay seems to have an annual flirtation with early retirement. The 49ers are cursed at the quarterback position or so it'd seem. Then, who knows with the Seahawks? They're about to pin their hopes of building a consistent winner by paying Geno Smith a hell of a lot of money, and have tons of holes on their defense to fill.
Here's me buying the hype on the Gannon-Kyler Cardinals. This core had multiple strong starts to seasons under Kingsbury only to fade at the end. Historic opening presser significance or lack thereof aside — I will say Crazy Eyes Adam Gase was a disaster of a first impression and awful with the Jets — my gut tells me after Thursday that Gannon can get these Cardinals over the hump once Kyler is full-go.