Cardinals' new coach Gannon: Everything on offense will be structured through Kyler Murray

It was the briefest of encounters, but the first interaction between the Arizona Cardinals' new head coach Jonathan Gannon and quarterback Kyler Murray on Tuesday spoke volumes.

Though it lasted just 20 seconds and was captured on video by the team after Gannon agreed to a five-year contract, it revealed two key elements to the beginning of the Gannon-Murray dynamic. One, was Gannon, who spent the past two seasons as the Eagles defensive coordinator, clearly is the high-energy, command-the-room type of personality he has been made out to be.

You could tell that when Gannon was on his way out of the team’s Tempe training facility to catch a flight back to Philadelphia and fetch his family for Thursday morning’s introductory news conference. Before he left, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill pointed down a hallway and told the coach that Murray was right around the corner, working out in the weight room.

Gannon sat down two travel bags and sprinted towards Murray, Arizona’s $230.5 million man. He began clapping his hands loudly when the two made eye contact. After a hearty hug and some high-fives, Gannon told the young QB, “Let’s go! Let’s go win! Got it?”

Murray, smiling widely and offering another hand slap, tells Gannon, “I gotcha.”

The fact that Murray was in the training facility conducting his rehab from a torn ACL in his right knee was just as compelling. After he fired Kliff Kingsbury as head coach on Jan. 9, Bidwill told reporters that he expected Murray to do the majority of his rehabbing at the team facility and not near his hometown in the Dallas area. And there he was in Tempe, even sharing some of his workout routines on video via Instagram.

Not only that, but guess who was in the front row at Gannon’s news conference Thursday morning? Kyler Murray, who sat right next to Gannon’s family. Tight end Zach Ertz, running back James Conner and left tackle D.J. Humphries were among the other Cardinals players who were in attendance.

Related: Cards' Kyler Murray shows off progress in injury rehab

It's only the beginning, but it could signal the start of a positive next step in Murray’s journey in the NFL and how he responds to his second head coach with the Cardinals. Gannon eagerly awaits developing a bond with the former No.1 overall draft pick and said he has a definitive plan in mind to help Murray reach his full potential.

It begins, Gannon said, with the hiring of the right offensive coordinator.

“That’s step one,” he said. “We’ll start to look at some different candidates and looking at interviewing some people here in the next 48 hours. But I have a very specific vision of how I want to play on offense. The person that comes in here to run the offense is going to understand that everything that we do will be structured around the quarterback position to maximize his skill set and we have an elite one.

“We also have some elite players at different positions already on the roster that I’m very excited to work with. But we’re going to maximize Kyler’s skill set, we’re going to be adaptable, we’re going to generate explosive (plays), we’re going to protect the football and be situationally smart.”

'Legit problem for defenses'

Gannon and the Eagles got a first-hand look at Murray this past season during a 20-17 victory over the Cardinals in Week 5 at State Farm Stadium. It’s where Gannon’s tenure with Philadelphia would end following a 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 this past Sunday.

Read more: Gannon relays vision for Cardinals as head coach tenure begins

Before accepting the job in Arizona, he asked some trusted friends around the NFL what they thought of Murray and the potential that is there and said, “Everything that I heard with the research that I did coming here about the players or the people I was going to be working for was all positive.”

As for Murray, the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowl selection, Gannon knows what a challenge it can be to game plan against the QB.

“I’d use the term, he’s a ‘problem’ to defend because of what he can do,” Gannon said. “He’s a legit problem for defenses. He has a very unique skill set and that’s what I’m looking forward to in working with him and showing him, ‘Hey, this is how defenses are going to try and stop you. Here’s what you need to be ready for.’

“These are the things we’re going to do with him that’s going to help him move all the way up and down the field, score a bunch of points and be explosive and protect the football.”

Murray regressed this past season in his fourth year in the NFL. He had his lowest completion percentage (66.4) since his rookie year (64.4) and career lows in yards gained per pass attempt (6.1), yards gained per completion (9.1), passing yards per game (215.3) and passer rating (87.2).

He missed Week 10 and 11 with a sore hamstring and then suffered his knee injury during a Monday night loss to the Patriots on Dec. 12, missing the final four games on season-ending injured reserve. It isn’t known exactly when he’ll be ready to resume on-field activities, although he isn’t expected to participate in offseason workouts or much, if any, of training camp.

Related: Cardinals have a ton to get done after hiring new coach

To that end, Gannon said he and General Manager Monti Ossenfort will be proactive in making sure they have at least a couple quarterbacks ready to go until Murray is completely healthy. Veteran Colt McCoy, who turns 37 in September, presently is the only other quarterback under contract.

Gannon said whether the team decides to bolster the QB position through free agency, a trade, the draft or the waiver wire, “We’re going to turn overall all those stones because that’s the main goal here, is to put the best team that we can out on the field.”

But make no mistake, Murray is the face of the franchise and despite what some of his critics may say about him, he and the Cardinals are united and invested in making it work. It will be interesting, though, to see how Murray responds to a new head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Ertz, for one, said he’s tired of all the Kyler bashing that’s been going on since the start of last season.

“It seems like every other day there’s been a story about Kyler in a negative light,” Ertz said following Thursday’s news conference. “People forget how talented he is. He was drafted No.1 overall for a reason. He’s had a lot of success in the NFL for a reason. And yeah, I have negative aspects to my game but they’re not getting thrown out in the media every day.

“It’s important to me as a friend, as another player on this team, to voice my support because I’m able to see the work he puts in. I’m able to see how talented he is and hopefully, whenever the OC is here, he’s going to be put in a position to be successful to maximize his talents and as a player, that’s all you can ask.”

Read more: Eagles coach defended new Cardinals coach vs. critics

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon has big plans for Kyler Murray