Philadelphia Eagles: Jonathan Gannon’s old boss landed a new job

As of right now, at around 4:30 on Thursday, January 27th, Jonathan Gannon is still the Philadelphia Eagles‘ head coach.

Now granted, at 5:30, could that change? You bet, Pennsylvania is a right to work state after all, and Jeffrey Lurie could rewatch his team’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders and decided to fire the soon-to-be second-year defensive coordinator in favor of a more established guy like East Stroudsburg’s Vic Fangio or Gannon’s former boss, Mike Zimmer.

… or, more realistically, the Houston Texans could leave their love affair with ex-Eagles quarterback Josh McCown at the altar in favor of Gannon, the defensive wunderkind who came up under some of the best defensive minds in the business.

Funny enough, one of those minds, Matt Eberflus, who once employed the Eagles’ defensive coordinator as a defensive backs coach with the Indianapolis Colts from 2018-20, just landed a head coaching job of his own with the Bears, which is bad news for Gannon in the short-term, as there is now one less job on the market, but good news for his long-term prospects, especially if Chicago can sustain a period of prolonged success for the first time in what feels like a generation.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ DC could eventually follow in his mentor’s footsteps.

The NFL is a copycat league.

When one team succeeds, they will naturally have their assistant coaches poached for bigger and better opportunities. It happened with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, the Green Bay Packers/Buffalo Bills in 2022, and the New England Patriots every few seasons for the last two decades.

In 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles stole not one, not two, but four coaches from the Indianapolis Colts in Nick Sirianni, Jonathan Gannon, tight ends coach Jason Michael, and passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo. While the latter two aren’t exactly household names, all four played vital roles in the team’s on-field success, which far exceeded the expectations of many a fan, pundit, or outside observer.

If the Eagles continue to soldier on and build their own period of prolonged success, maybe they too will have coaches like Gannon, Jemal Singleton, or even Shane Steichen signed away to become a head coach. And hey, even if they don’t, being a head coach isn’t all about X’s and O’s.

Andy Reid‘s offense never ranked particularly high in Green Bay, not because they were bad but because he never coordinated an offense. He coached the offensive line and tight ends in Green Bay before spending two years as the team’s quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach and didn’t start calling an offense until he melted down his cheese head and slapped it onto some thinly sliced ribeye on an Amoroso’s roll.

While the Eagles’ defense was pretty darn meh in 2021, surrendering the 10th most yards and 18th most points league-wide, many a fan appreciated Gannon’s ability to elevate a sub-par unit above the sum of its parts and have tabbed the Cleveland, Ohio native as one of the NFL’s rising stars.

If the Philadelphia Eagles stock their defensive cupboard with well-fitting pieces, specifically at the linebacker and safety positions, Jonathan Gannon’s interviews with the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Minnesota Vikings for their head coaching jobs certainly won’t be his last. He’s young, has a resume littered with jobs under sharp defensive minds, and is well regarded around the league among his peers; if that doesn’t scream head coach in waiting, I don’t know what would.