Tag: Jonathan Gannon

Report: Kellen Moore will fly back with Eagles following Super Bowl before joining Saints

Kellen Moore will fly back to Philadelphia with the Eagles before joining the New Orleans Saints

Kellen Moore is the clear front-runner for the New Orleans Saints.

The Eagles offensive coordinator is expected to receive a formal job offer after Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX matchup, which he’s likely to accept. 

Nick Underhill reports that Moore will fly back to Philadelphia with the Eagles before beginning the process of accepting the Saints’ head coaching position.

Like Jonathan Gannon after Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona, the assumption was that Saints brass would ensure that Moore doesn’t leave New Orleans after the Eagles face the Chiefs on Sunday night.

After a historic career at Boise State, Moore served as the Cowboys’ backup quarterback from 2015 to 2017 before taking over as quarterbacks coach in 2018. Dallas promoted him to offensive coordinator the following season, and he held that job through 2022.

This season, Philadelphia finished eighth in total yards, seventh in points, and second in rushing yards, but it had a league-low in passing attempts.

Saints learned from Cardinals’ tampering mistake with Eagles head coach candidate

The Cardinals were once found guilty on tampering charges for Jonathan Gannon. The Saints are working to avoid that as they pursue Eagles coach Kellen Moore:

If the Philadelphia Eagles lose offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to the New Orleans Saints, it will be the second time they’ve lost their offensive coordinator in three seasons. It’s happened after both of their Super Bowl appearances. Coincidentally, they will have lost their play caller to the host city’s team both times as well.

After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon stayed in Phoenix to coach the Arizona Cardinals. Kellen Moore could have a similar fate in New Orleans.

And the Saints are taking every precaution to not have the same fate as the Cardinals. When Arizona hired Gannon, they had to swap third-draft picks with the Eagles because the NFL determined Arizona was guilty of tampering. Philadelphia received the No. 66 pick in exchange for the No. 94 pick, plus a fifth-round selection in 2024.

New Orleans hasn’t succumbed to the same pitfalls the Cardinals fell victim to. Arizona contacted Gannon for the first time the day after the NFC Championship Game. NFL rules dictate the process very clearly: when speaking with candidates, teams must first hold a virtual teleconference interview (capped at three hours). After that, they can meet in person either at the team facility or another location, and those talks can take eight or nine hours to cover everything. Further discussions can happen, but you’ve got to follow the process.

You may think to yourself the Saints did the same as Arizona. They did fly to Philadelphia after Moore’s offense put up a season-high 55 points to win the NFC. The difference is that New Orleans had followed NFL protocol to the letter. They already interviewed Moore virtually, but that was the first time the Cardinals talked to Gannon. This small difference of not being the initial contact is the difference between receiving tampering penalties.

What if they misstepped? New Orleans has two third-round selections. They’d most likely have to part ways with their first pick at No. 71 and drop down to No. 95 or 96 (depending on the Super Bowl outcome).

That’s a difference of 24 to 25 slots by simply adhering to the NFL regulations. The Saints need to stock talent right now, so dropping down in the draft is only acceptable via trade. They’ve done a good job following the rules to this point. Let’s hope they don’t drop the ball before they’ve crossed the goal line.

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Could another Eagles coach be poached by the Super Bowl host city?

Could the Saints be the second Super Bowl host city in the last three years to poach an Eagles coordinator shortly after the big game?

The New Orleans Saints head coaching search is coming down to the wire, as Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy both have interviews lined up in the coming days, and the timeline grows ever longer from the start of the hiring process to now. With that, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo made an interesting connection.

The last time the Philadelphia Eagles were in a Super Bowl (against the Kansas City Chiefs, nonetheless), it took place at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals. And the Cardinals wound up hiring Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their head coach shortly after, and kept him around in their building for the future.

Now the set lines itself up again, as the Eagles will do battle with the Chiefs, this time in Caesars Superdome. Additionally, this year’s host team, the Saints, are looking for a head coach and happen to be interviewing one of the Eagles’ coordinators in Kellen Moore.

While it may be a little bit of a stretch, it is not hard to think that the convenience of the week off before the Super Bowl, allowing for further interviews, before having a candidate in your building competing for one of the most prestigious trophies in the world could sway your opinion as a general manager. Will Moore be the head coach for the Saints? Who knows. But the connections have begun to be made between each candidate the Saints have been interviewing, and it will all come down to who they believe is the best fit.

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Cardinals one of most improved teams in 2024

Only three teams in the NFL had a better win increase over 2023.

Looking at the big picture can be frustrating when a team teases its fan base by winning four consecutive games to be 6-4 at the bye and sitting in first place in the division.

However, it’s important to have a broad view, considering where the Arizona Cardinals were when general manager Monti Ossenfort was handed the keys to the franchise and Jonathan Gannon was named head coach early in 2023.

It’s also crucial to realize that the Cardinals were 1-4 after losing two one-score games, but then got to 6-4 in large part because of three end-of-game victories by a total of four points. It went the other way again down the stretch with three one-score losses by a total of 11 points, including the overtime crusher at Carolina.

Gannon said Monday, in the aftermath of the season-ending win over the San Francisco 49ers, “Winning in the league is hard. I talk about this with Monti a lot, and even the coaches. You realize the NFL, if you’ve been around it long enough, you understand this. Yeah, we’re a couple plays away from being in the playoffs. Yeah, we’re a couple plays away from being four wins too, but every team can kind of say that typically. The point is the margin for error in the NFL is small and you have to maximize those margins.”

He concluded, “There are a lot of new players. Second year in the system, I feel like we understood what was going on a little bit better. We executed at a little bit higher level. I think the guys that are out there suiting up playing really maximized their role. Like I said, we’re on the path. We just have to stay on it.”

The other reality is that there were only three teams in the NFL that improved their regular-season win totals from 2023 to 2024 more than the Cardinals: Playoff teams Washington plus-8, Minnesota plus-7 and the Los Angeles Chargers plus 6.

The Cardinals and Kansas City were both plus-4. After that, there was Carolina, Detroit and Philadelphia plus-3; Buffalo, Denver and Green Bay plus-2; and Atlanta, Cincinnati, Seattle and Tampa Bay plus-1.

Of those 15 teams with a plus, six were in the playoffs last season and 10 qualified this season.

There were four teams this season with the same win totals: Houston, the Los Angeles Rams, New England and Pittsburgh. Aside from the Patriots, the other three have been in the playoffs both seasons.

As for the 13 teams that won fewer games this year, five were in the playoffs in 2023, but only one, Baltimore at minus-1, is in this season.

As you will see from the remainder, there were some precipitous drops:

Baltimore and Indianapolis minus-1; Chicago and the New York Jets minus-2; Miami (playoffs in 2023), New York Giants and Tennessee minus-3; Las Vegas and New Orleans minus-4; Dallas (playoffs in 2023) and Jacksonville minus-5; San Francisco (playoffs in 2023) minus-6; and Cleveland (playoffs in 2023) a striking minus-8.

Of course, now that the season is over, the emphasis is on taking another jump. It might not be four, but two would be 10 wins and that was enough for the Bucs and the Rams to win their division. The only 10-win team that is watching this weekend is Seattle.

Gannon was pragmatic when asked about balancing the positives and negatives from this season.

“Romans 12:2: Renew your mind,” he said. “That’s how I balance it. It really doesn’t matter now. What matters to me is how we are going to improve because we have to win more games than we did this year. There’s a path and an opportunity to do that, and it starts with me improving. I told the team that today. I said you can go about it two ways. You can listen to all the narratives, all the outside noise, all the external factors as I would call them. You listen to all these things about why we didn’t earn the right to play right now.

“Or you can go about it in a way that says, ‘You know what? I didn’t do a good enough job in the role that I’m in.’ Take that on the chin and then improve from it. That’s how I’m going to go about it and I know they will too.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon says Kyler Murray isn’t the problem

“He is a top-level franchise quarterback, and he’s played like that. He’s shown that,” Gannon said this week.

The Arizona Cardinals finished the season 8-9 in 2024 after a four-win 2023 season. It was an improvement but also a disappointment because they went 2-5 after their bye week and, heading into the season finale on Sunday, quarterback Kyler Murray threw eight interceptions in the six games coming out of the bye.

That has led to fan criticism and concern about whether he should be the team’s quarterback moving forward.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon doesn’t have any doubts.

“He is a top-level franchise quarterback, and he’s played like that. He’s shown that,” Gannon said in his end-of-season press conference on Monday.  “He was in there talking to me today. We were going through some things, and I think the best teams win. We have to make sure we have the best team, and he understands how he fits into that.”

He elaborated further.

“He was in my office for a long time,” Gannon said of Murray. “He wants some plays back. So do I. We all do. You start looking around, you list the playoff teams and the quarterbacks of the playoff teams, I told him and I believe this: what is the common denominator of those quarterbacks in the playoffs right now? You could list all these different things. I said, ‘I’ll make it easy on you, it’s good teams.’ It’s what it is. Good quarterbacks are on good teams. We have to do everything that we can to support him and put a good team around him, then he has to play to his level consistently, which I know he can do.”

Gannon is saying the team was not quite good enough around Murray this past year.

They had good production in the run game. They had big numbers from tight end Trey McBride. The offensive line protected well. The defense was inconsistent and the play from receivers was also inconsistent.

While many believe Murray is the problem, Gannon does not agree. He has all the confidence that Murray is the quarterback to be able to take the Cardinals to the heights they hope to reach.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Jonathan Gannon unsurprised by Drew Petzing getting head coaching interest

The Bears want to interview Petzing, who has been the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator for two years.

The Arizona Cardinals could see some turnover on their coaching staff as the Chicago Bears have requested to interview offensive coordinator Drew Petzing for their vacant head coaching job. While many fans are frustrated with how Petzing did his job this past season, head coach Jonathan Gannon  could see this coming.

He is “not at all” surprised Petzing is getting interest. “I’m excited for Drew,” he said. “The people who know, know.”

Gannon believes Petzing will be a good head coach.

“The first thing is he knows how to teach,” he said. “He’s got really good command. He can get the best out of people. He’s extremely intelligent. I think he knows what’s going on, and he’s had some good experiences around a lot of good guys. I’m probably not one of them, but he’s been trained the right way. He is intelligent, and he’s got a growth mindset. He knows where he’s really strong and where he needs help, and I think he’d do a really good job.”

Petzing is one of a long list of candidates the Bears are considering and he is not considered a favorite, but Gannon is prepared for the possibility of Petzing leaving.

“The day I got here, I was thinking of future successors,” he explained. “You have to constantly. I try to live in the present, but the role that I’m in now we have really good people. We have multiple guys on that staff, in my opinion, that are going to be head coaches. In my seat, you better be thinking about that and have some answers.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals TE Trey McBride will be looking to bounce back vs. Rams

Somehow Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride only had 3 receptions in the Week 16 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

If the Arizona Cardinals want to spoil the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing would be best advised to get the ball to tight end Trey McBride early and often. Somehow, McBride only had three receptions in the Week 16 loss to the Carolina Panthers. His three receptions were tied for the fewest he has had in a game this season and his 20 yards were the fewest in a game this season. 

With two games to spare, McBride has 92 receptions for 958 yards, working as the leading pass catcher in the Cardinals offense. Whether intentionally or not, McBride has been the primary target of quarterback Kyler Murray out of Petzing’s scheme.

McBride works ideally as a block and release, flat, intermediate, and third-level receiver and is an essential piece to the team’s offense.

McBride also deserves credit for his labor as a run blocker, helping to seal up the edge for running back James Conner on stretch-run concepts. It’s McBride’s physicality and agility that make him a very apparent force in the dynamic Cardinals offense.

Giving accolades to McBride isn’t enough however, Murray needs to continue to get him the ball. The Cardinals won’t make the postseason this year so the least the could do is give their fans something to cheer for by pulling out an upset versus a team rival.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Kyler Murray’s mistakes mean more misery in loss to Panthers

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray can only dwell on the countless mistakes and errors that held his team back in 2024.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray continues to yield improbable collapses when the team needs him most. The gut-wrenching sack by Carolina’s D.J. Wonnum of Murray in overtime to help the Carolina Panthers prevail 36-30 in Week 16 won’t be easily forgotten.

In overtime, Murray and the Cardinals totaled minus-six on their final seven-play drive before punting out of their own end zone. Throughout the sequence, the team suffered a delay-of-game penalty and a loss of 14 yards on the sack mentioned above.

Words can’t justify the consistent errors, nor the frustration Cardinals fans have been forced to endure the entire 2024 season. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing may deserve a percentage of the blame but Murray’s fourth-quarter interception throw to safety Demani Richardson was also a heave of desperation.

Murray has now thrown six interceptions over the last five games. With the loss, the Cardinals have now been eliminated from playoff contention. In Year 6 of Murray’s professional career, fans must wonder when his intuitiveness and decision-making abilities will mature.

Nevertheless, the broadcast cameras will only be forced to zoom in on Murray’s sideline antics and vivid isolation for only two more weeks.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

What Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said on Patriots QB Drake Maye

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon commented on Drake Maye ahead of the Week 15 matchup

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon had high praise for New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye, as the two teams get set to face off on Sunday afternoon.

Maye has looked every bit as good as the Patriots hoped when they spent the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft on him. There’s hope that he’ll  have another strong outing against the Cardinals to help the Patriots bounce back from their 25-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13.

Despite the loss, Maye had an efficient game by going 24-of-30 passing for 235 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Nevertheless, the Patriots defense failed to fend off an 80-yard game-winning touchdown drive by quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Colts offense in the end.

“I think he’s grown since he’s been playing,” Gannon told media members on Friday. “I think he’s playing probably his best ball right now probably just because of the experience. So definitely his skill set jumps out. You can see why he was taken so high [in the draft]. He’s a good player, he’s ascending.”

It remains to be seen how Maye fares in the Week 15 matchup against the Cardinals. He’ll be looking to finish strong with only four regular season games left on the schedule.

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Kyler Murray’s turnovers have to hurt Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will need to take better care of the football to salvage the 2024 season.

Even when Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing script the perfect game plan, they can’t possibly weigh in the chances of quarterback Kyler Murray turning the ball over on consecutive throws at the most inopportune times.



Murray singlehandedly surrendered the game momentum in the 30-18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon, tossing two crucial interceptions in the first quarter after the Cardinals gained a 7-3 lead. Murray has now thrown five interceptions in the last three games, a strong bullet point to reference regarding the team’s three-game losing streak.



Ramifications will only heighten for the Cardinals, who have now dropped to the third place in the NFC West. Murray must adapt a patient mindset and avoid searching for miracle plays that are highly improbable versus high-caliber opponents. Gannon has to ponder, how might have things gone over this three-game skid had Murray not thrown those interceptions? Ultimately, Gannon must avoid meditating on the self-sabotage, it will only depress him more. Instead, Gannon should use his expertise to redirect Murray in hopes that the Cardinals will slip into the 2024 playoffs.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.