The Arizona Cardinals have hired Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their new head coach, just two days after the Eagles lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The announcement came just hours after the Eagles’ offensive coordinator Shane Steichen left his post to join the Indianapolis Colts as their head coach.
According to the Cardinals, Gannon signed a five-year deal.
“I am super excited about the opportunity,” Gannon said. “I look forward to getting my hands on the players and putting a winning product on the field.”
Gannon, 40, has 15 years of coaching experience, spending the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Eagles which included the trip to Super Bowl LVII.
In his time in Philadelphia, Gannon overhauled the Eagles defense from a liability into one of the meanest units in the NFL. They improved from conceding 26.1 points per game in 2020 (20th in the league) to 20.2 in 2022 (eighth).
This past regular season, the Gannon-led defense led the NFL with 70 sacks – the third most sacks in a season as well as a finishing first in pass defense (171.6 yards per game).
Gannon will have to work his magic again if he is to turn around a Cardinals team that finished the season with a 4-13 record and finished the season ranked 31st for points allowed.
Arizona has the third overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Despite the loss of both coordinators in less than 24 hours, the Eagles tweeted “thank you” to both former coordinators on Tuesday.
