Jonathan Gannon Makes His Return Trip To Philadelphia On Wednesday morning, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spoke briefly about playing Sunday against Jonathan Gannon, his former defensive coordinator, when the Cardinals come to Philadelphia.
Speaking on WIP, Sirianni laughed, but he had a message for his pal.
“As much as I love Jonathan Gannon, because I do, I hired him to be the defensive coordinator, we had so many special moments the past two years and my sentiment toward Jonathan Gannon is not the same as what I hear the city’s sentiment is,” Sirianni stated. “Aside from this week, I always support him because I love him.”
“(But) I want him to feel so freaking uncomfortable when he walks into – and I’m going to tell him I said this – I want him to feel so uncomfortable and I am already sensing that’s that is going to happen when he walks in that stadium that he never wants to come back to Philly again.”
That’s how buddies joke around. When it was brought up, Gannon grinned and said that Sirianni had indeed sent the message directly to him.
“I’ve got nothing but love and respect for all those people there,” stated Gannon. “It has been a wonderful two years for my family and myself, and I love how close I am to Nick, but as I mentioned earlier, the goal is to compete, compete, compete.
It’s a fun location to play. It’s an unfriendly atmosphere. When I was there, they were on our side for two years, but our boys are aware that we’ve played in some unfriendly places. That will undoubtedly be one of them.
Seeing as how much the Philly fan base normally tries to make the opponent uncomfortable, it will be fascinating to watch how much they want to make Gannon uncomfortable.
But Gannon has a history with the Eagles that most rival coaches don’t. Using a franchise-high 70 sacks, he masterminded a stellar defense in 2022 that propelled the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
Gannon became the victim when the Eagles lost a tight game to the Chiefs, especially after he took the head coaching position with the Cardinals. The Cardinals and Eagles revealed before to the draft that the Cards had admitted to using Gannon for personal gain early in the coaching discussions, which resulted in a trade of draft picks (leaving the Cardinals with an extra fifth-round pick in the 2024 round).
Defensive end Brandon Graham told Philadelphia reporters on Wednesday, “I know he wants some type of getback, just the way everything happened, the way everybody kind of talked about him when he left.” “All we need to do is make sure we go out and do ourselves, dude. Play hard, play hard, but seeing him will be pleasant.”
Gannon acknowledged that the Eagles game was merely the next one on the schedule and said he was “not really concerned about” the response he would receive from the supporters. Even though Gannon’s homecoming would have made headlines in Philadelphia, his departure had already come back to haunt the team due of their defensive woes.
Despite the lack of wins, linebacker Dennis Gardeck claimed that Gannon has brought in a “winning culture,” thus it makes sense that he is focusing on his own squad. The team’s record (3–12) is not what the first-year coach had planned for.
Given Gannon’s past success in Philadelphia, safety Budda Baker was asked if the players wanted to help him win there. Baker said without hesitation. “Just trying to get a win, period.”
However, Baker grinned when he said that on Wednesday morning during the team meeting, he thought about interrupting Gannon.
“I had a thought that before the game, I better not witness someone slapping, kissing, or cuddling a baby. After the game, you do that,” Baker remarked. “I was thinking of that. But we’ll strive to win the game against a different opponent.”
Sirianni may like to shake hands with Gannon and other staff members. There most likely won’t be many interactions with the babies or supporters present.
Last season, Nick Rallis, the defensive coordinator for the Cardinals, worked under Gannon with the Eagles. “The environment is phenomenal,” Rallis said. I wouldn’t anticipate a particularly heartfelt greeting, and that’s part of its appeal. The supporters will be ecstatic.”
Since Gannon’s departure, the players have given him praise; they recognize that he was a valuable member of the team and that he had to leave to further his profession.
Cornerback Darius Slay told Philadelphia reporters, “JG is my guy, man.” “Seeing him will be a terrific experience. I adore what he is doing in that location. I have only heard positive things from the men out there. They will definitely play hard for him, that much is certain.”
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