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Arizona Cardinals hire Eagles' Jonathan Gannon as head coach
Written by Sports Desk. Posted in NFL. | 14 February 2023 | 345 Views
Tags: American Football, Arizona Cardinals, Nfl, Philadelphia Eagles

The Arizona Cardinals have hired Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach.

Gannon makes the move to Arizona two days after the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 at State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals.

The deal, which was announced on Tuesday, is for five years. Forty-year-old Gannon becomes Arizona’s fourth coach in seven years and replaces Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired after the team ended the 2022 season on a seven-game losing streak to finish 4-13.

"I am super excited about the opportunity," Gannon said in a statement. "I look forward to getting my hands on the players and putting a winning product on the field."

Serving as the Eagles' defensive coordinator in the past two seasons, Gannon helped Philadelphia to an NFC title behind a relentless defence.

This past season, the Eagles ranked second in total defence (301.5 yards per game) and led the NFL with 70 sacks – 15 more than the next-closest team.

The defense registered eight more sacks while yielding just 14 total points in their first two playoff wins before struggling to stop the high-powered Chiefs in the Super Bowl, surrendering 24 second-half points in blowing a 10-point halftime lead while failing to sack Patrick Mahomes.

Gannon now takes over a Cardinals team in transition with approximately 30 unrestricted free agents.

With his hiring, Gannon became the second Philadelphia coordinator to be named a head coach within hours after offensive coordinator Shane Steichen was hired by the Indianapolis Colts earlier on Tuesday.