Arizona Cardinals hire Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as head coach

Five weeks after firing Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach, the Arizona Cardinals finally have settled on his replacement.

The Cardinals are hiring Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to take over the reins of a team that finished 4-13 this past season to tie the franchise record for the most losses in a season. The Cardinals signed him to a five-year contract.

“I am super excited about the opportunity,” Gannon said, via the team’s website. “I look forward to getting my hands on the players and putting a winning product on the field.”

It's the first time in the Arizona history of the franchise that the Cardinals have hired a head coach after Feb. 7. Team owner Michael Bidwill, however, promised he would cast a net far and wide to find the team’s next coach and he and new General Manager Monti Ossenfort interviewed more than a dozen candidates before finally settling on Gannon.

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The team is expected to hold a news conference on Thursday morning to formally introduce him.

Gannon, 40, has spent the past two seasons in charge of the Eagles’ defense and that unit was a major reason why Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl 57 on Sunday before losing to the Chiefs, 38-35, at State Farm Stadium. He interviewed with Bidwill and Ossenfort on Monday for the first time.

He was a finalist for the Texans’ head coaching job before Houston hired Lovie Smith in 2022 and DeMeco Ryans this year. Gannon previously coached with the Falcons (2007), Titans (2012-13), Vikings (2014-17) and Colts (2018-20). He also spent three years as a scout with the Rams (2009-11).

The Eagles, who went 14-3 and beat the Giants and 49ers to reach the Super Bowl, have now lost both of their top coordinators. Before it was learned the Cardinals were hiring Gannon on Tuesday, the Colts announced earlier in the day that they had hired Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen for their vacant head coaching job.

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“We’ve been looking at Jonathan for a while,” Bidwill told the team’s website. “I know Jonathan and Monti had spoken last year and Monto was pretty fired up about him. I got a chance to watch some videos about Jonathan and got a feel for his personality.

“When he came in (Monday) and put together his vision, his plan, it really seemed like it stood out. We had tremendous candidates, but he stood out in terms of his energy and also what his plan is. Every time he has been in a position to lead, he has excelled.”

Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick, a former first-round pick for the Cardinals, gave Gannon a glowing endorsement when asked about his defensive coordinator after the Super Bowl.

“He brings a lot of youth, energy and intelligence and he’s just a great character all around,” Reddick said. “Getting to know Gannon this year, I told him I appreciate him. I love him because he lets his players be who they are at the end of the day and if he decides to leave, whoever’s getting him I think they have a great head coach and someone the players will really take to.

“So, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, he doesn’t go but that is for my own selfish reasons. I like Gannon and whatever he decides, I support him. He worked hard for it and it’s all love.”

Gannon’s defense allowed only one offensive touchdown in the first half during Super Bowl 57, but gave up 24 second-half points and allowed game MVP Patrick Mahomes to lead the Chiefs on a 12-play, 66-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated with a game-winning field goal by Harrison Butker.

The Eagles’ defense led the league with 70 sacks during the regular season and had eight more in their first two playoff games but could not bring Mahomes down once on Sunday despite the fact he re-injured his sprained right ankle late in the second quarter. The Eagles ranked first against the pass and had the league’s second-ranked defense overall under Gannon.

After Gannon interviewed with the Cardinals on Monday, he met with the team again on Tuesday before the deal was finalized, according to multiple reports.

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The other final candidates for the job were Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

Anarumo, 56, has been Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator since 2019 and has helped the Bengals to two AFC Championships and a Super Bowl berth in 2021. He began his NFL coaching career with the Dolphins in 2012, serving as defensive backs coach for six seasons. He spent 2018 with the Giants in the same capacity.

Kafka, 35, recently completed his first season directing the Giants’ offense after serving the previous four years working with the Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid. A former quarterback who spent six NFL seasons with seven different teams, he began his NFL coaching career in 2017 as the Chiefs’ offensive quality control coach before moving up to quarterbacks coach (2018-19) and then to passing game coordinator (2020-21).

The search was narrowed down to three finalists after Brian Flores accepted an offer from the Vikings early last week to become their defensive coordinator. Flores, the former Dolphins head coach who spent last season as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach with the Steelers and had been scheduled to have his second interview with the Cardinals on Wednesday (Jan. 8).

Flores seemed like the favorite for the job between the final three candidates, especially considering he worked together with Ossenfort for 11 seasons when the two were with the Patriots. Something had to happen for him to spur a head coaching opportunity in Arizona to accept the defensive coordinator job in Minnesota, as was first reported by Schefter.

But then Gannon entered the picture in the days leading up to Super Bowl 57.

The Cardinals previously interviewed multiple candidates for their vacant head coaching position, including former Saints coach Sean Payton, who wound up accepting the same position with the Broncos, former Colts coach Frank Reich, who was hired as the Panthers’ next head coach, and former Falcons coach Dan Quinn, who decided to return to Dallas as defensive coordinator of the Cowboys.

Other candidates who met with the Cardinals but did not receive second interviews included Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, former Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has since accepted the same job in Carolina, and Vance Joseph, who spent the past four seasons as Arizona’s defensive coordinator.

It wasn’t immediately known if Joseph will be offered a chance to remain with the Cardinals. He is under contract with the team for another season, as are multiple other assistant coaches, including Jeff Rodgers, who has been the team’s assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. A handful of others have left the organization, however.

Defensive line coach Matt Burke has since left to accept the defensive coordinator position under Ryans with the Texans. Secondary coach Greg Williams has left to join the Packers in the same capacity. Tight ends coach Steve Heiden is now with the Lions and outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen took a job at the University of Illinois.

Kingsbury was 28-37-1 in four seasons with the Cardinals. He guided the team to an 11-6 finish in 2021 and the team’s first postseason appearance in six years, but the Cardinals got blown out by the Rams in an NFC Wild Card game, 34-11.

Arizona has the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft this year, but also has nearly 30 players set to become unrestricted free agents next month. Teams can begin negotiating with outside free agents starting March 13 and it will be interesting to see how many of their own free agents the Cardinals are able to bring back.

Two of the biggest names under consideration are defensive end Zach Allen and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., both of whom missed the final stretch of games due to injuries.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals hire Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon as head coach