New Report Makes Jonathan Gannon an Even Bigger Villain After Eagles Exit

Plenty of old emotions will resurface this week as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Arizona Cardinals. This game marks the return of former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who had an unceremonious exit from Philadelphia in order to take the Arizona head-coaching job.

That sneaky departure, coupled with his brash comments after the fact, have negated any good will Gannon earned due to his work with the Eagles' defense.

However, a new report has made the former member of Nick Sirianni's staff an even bigger villain following his exit.

ESPN's Tim McManus and Josh Weifuss released a lengthy article on Wednesday ahead of Gannon's return that provides new insight on his split from Philadelphia. They say Gannon "did not tell the Eagles" about the illegal contact he had with Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort or mention he would be interviewing for the team's opening.

The ESPN insiders note this "lack of transparency" ending up costing Philly as it hurt the chances of keeping "preferred replacement" Vic Fangio, who eventually joined the Miami Dolphins as their DC.

The details of Gannon's poor handling of his departure don't end there, however. A source told McManus and Weifuss that Ossenfort informed the Eagles about a Gannon interview request on the Friday before the Super Bowl. If Sirianni was aware of Gannon's impending split, he could've "gotten the ball rolling on replacement candidates," with Fangio being the obvious target.

Yet, the ESPN writers reveal Fangio had "informally committed" to joining the Dolphins after the Super Bowl since he had no knowledge about the Philly job opening up. That set the stage for Sean Desai to eventually be hired as defensive coordinator.

The ripple effects of Gannon's departure are obvious. He went about it behind closed doors, furthering his own personal career while putting the man who gave him a chance in Sirianni in a terrible spot to replace him.

That then hurt the Eagles organization, as they missed out on a top defensive mind to take Gannon's place. Now the team has Desai at the helm, which hasn't gone well considering his demotion from play-caller of this unit.

Suffice it to say, Gannon just continues to look worse and worse in the eyes of Eagles fans. A beatdown of his new team on Sunday would surely fire up everyone rooting for Philly after a tough stretch.

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