Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon could pop back up on the one team built to sustainably compete against the Birds in the NFC East: the Dallas Cowboys.
Following the Cowboys' recent firing of Matt Eberflus, and his own firing as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Gannon is gaining popularity as a candidate to run the defense opposite head coach and play-caller Brian Schottenheimer.
"Jonathan Gannon had a busy week ahead. Sources tell me and Mike Garofolo that his interview schedule is as follows: Cowboys for DC tomorrow, Commanders for DC Thursday, Titans for HC Sunday," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported.
Arizona Cardinals on SI's Donnie Druin believes it's "notable that current Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams worked under Gannon in Arizona as his offensive line coach before leaving the Cardinals last offseason."
That's absolutely the case. Football is a networking sport, and familiarity often leads to hirings. With that said, there's a reason Gannon's name is not coming up in any connections to the Philadelphia Eagles, beyond the fact that there's no smoke surrounding a potential Vic Fangio exit.
Jonathan Gannon Wound May Not Be Healed Yet in Philadelphia
Gannon shouldn't be permanently banned from making a return to the Eagles just because he was scheming his exit behind the organization's back. But having him return after crawling back from the very job he schemed for is a bad look.
The last thing Philadelphia needs to do right now is make an unpopular coaching hire. Kevin Patullo may be on the chopping block, with people around Philadelphia hitting golf balls into projector screens with his face on it, and certainly, his replacement cannot be a dud.
Nick Sirriani, Howie Roseman, and Co. have plenty of work to do on that side of the ball. Hiring Gannon as a defensive assistant working alongside Fangio would be an intriguing thought, one that would undoubtedly rock the boat. But, clearly, Gannon is above being a position coach or an analyst.
Gannon has a golden opportunity in Dallas to take over an expensive defense with intriguing talent at the skill positions and new additions in the trenches. He also has the chance to join a team in Washington with an explosive enough offense to cover for his unit's shortcomings. Tennessee isn't an ideal location, given the talent in place, but it's a head coaching job. He could fail laterally into a similar role.
Gannon and the Eagles could, and should, both do better than each other right now.