Moore: Time for Jonathan Gannon to prove he's right guy for the job

Jonathan Gannon said all the right things at his introductory news conference at the Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center, including “I’m the guy for the job.”

“I’m very excited to get to work,” Gannon said.

“My father is no longer living, but he taught from a very young age that it’s not about you, it’s about the team, and that if you’re gonna do something, you’ve got to go all in and give 100 percent,” he said.

“We’re gonna be adaptable; we’re gonna be violent; we’re gonna be explosive; and we’re gonna be smart," he said.

“We will maximize the talents of the players that we have, and that’s how we’re gonna win games,” he said. “And don’t get it twisted, we’re gonna win games.”

Sounds great, but you’ll forgive Arizona football fans if we’ll believe it when we see it.

We heard all the right things from Herm Edwards when he took the job at Arizona State, and we all saw how that turned out.

We heard all the right things from Kevin Sumlin when he took the job at Arizona, that didn’t go so well, either.

We heard all the right things from Steve Wilks when he took over the Cardinals, and we heard all the right things when Kliff Kingsbury took over just a year later.

Read more: Who is Jonathan Gannon? Get to know new Cardinals coach | Gannon relays vision for Cardinals as head coach tenure begins

Before team president Michael Bidwill and General Manager Monti Ossenfort ducked out of the auditorium where Gannon was introduced, they made it clear that Gannon was their guy.

Let’s hope they’re right, because they passed over or were spurned by a slew of highly qualified candidates.

Denver got Sean Payton.

Houston got DeMeco Ryans.

Eric Bieniemy, whose Kansas City offense embarrassed Gannon’s Philadelphia defense just a week ago in the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium, is interviewing for an offensive coordinator role in Washington.

Carolina got Jim Caldwell as a “special assistant,” whatever that means.

Brian Flores took the defensive coordinator job in Minnesota.

Vance Joseph is reportedly going to interview for a defensive coordinator job in Philadelphia.

And Dan Quinn decided to stay on as defensive coordinator in Dallas.

Gannon has good experience, working his way up as an NFL scout and position coach over the last 15 years.

It gave him a sense of how an entire professional operation can and should run to give teams a good opportunity to win.

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

He seems to have early support from players, the few of them who are actually on the roster. (This team has more vacancies than a motel during a pandemic.)

Among the dozen or so guys at the facility for Gannon’s introduction were Kyler Murray, James Conner, D.J. Humphries, Rondale Moore and Zach Ertz. (DeAndre Hopkins was noticeably absent.)

“It means a lot to me that the players are here, and I’ve connected with a lot of these guys already,” Gannon said.

“You have to understand and know,” he said later, “that I care about them as people first before (caring about them) as players. You’ll hear me say ‘servant leadership’ a lot. … That’s what we’re here to do.”

“Everybody in this building,” he added, “no matter what they do for the Cardinals, whether you’re the offensive coordinator, ticket sales manager, marketing director, you have a specific role to serve the players that we have for us. And everyone has to be on board with that because the players’ job is to maximize themselves, and it’s our job to get them to maximize themselves and to hit their ceiling.”

Somers: Is this a new era for the Cards? Or the latest chapter of an old one?

Gannon suffered a broken hip that ended his playing career at Louisville, but he used that disappointment as fuel to re-invent himself and keep going.

It’s something that all successful people must learn to do at some point.

“You’ve got to have faith that everything happens for a reason,” Gannon said. “I do believe that, and the seat that I’m in today, there are people who have helped me … but ultimately, you’ve got to make your own mind up and have a sustained positive attitude that I’m gonna do whatever I have to do in my heart and mind to get it done. Ultimately, if it is to be, it’s up to me.”

Sounds good. He’s gotten it done, as far as becoming an NFL head coach.

His next goal will be to return the Cardinals to the playoffs. To do it, he’ll have to go out and prove himself right, to show everyone that he’s the guy for that job.

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

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore. There's plenty Moore where this came from. Subscribe for videos, columns, opinions and analysis from The Arizona Republic’s award-winning team. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Moore: Time for Jonathan Gannon to prove he's 'the guy for the job'