At just 39 years old, Jonathan Gannon is a finalist for the Houston Texans’ head coach vacancy. However, Gannon’s story might have been very different had it not been for a major hip injury while playing defensive back at the University of Louisville.
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Jonathan Gannon’s playing career was ended by a traumatic hip injury
Jonathan Gannon was in severe pain, experiencing a devastating hip injury as a Louisville underclassman. It was so traumatic that the injury he suffered was akin to a serious car accident.
As a Louisville defensive back, Gannon was dropping back into coverage when his shoulder pad bumped into another player and his hip gave out. It was a Bo Jackson injury, a posterior dislocation of his hip. The femur bone went through the hip socket.
Gannon turned to coaching when he was unable to return to the field
Although Gannon attempted to play football again and rekindle his burgeoning game that teammates compared to former New York Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn, the St. Ignatius Hall of Fame selection and Cleveland native was unable to make a full recovery. From that calamity and disappointment, Gannon launched his coaching career as a student assistant coach.
Now a finalist for the Houston Texans’ head coaching vacancy along with former NFL quarterback Josh McCown and former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator turned his passion for playing the game into a bright coaching career.
Bobby Petrino played a crucial role in the change of direction
Missouri State coach Bobby Petrino, Louisville’s coach at the time of Gannon’s injury, convinced Gannon that he should pursue coaching.
“When I got to Louisville, it was still in his mind that he would be able to play coming off the hip injury, the Bo Jackson injury, and Jon would go out and have a great practice on a Tuesday and then on a Wednesday, he would have a really hard time walking and being able to recover from it,” Petrino said in a telephone interview. “When spring ball was over, we sat down and talked. He didn’t think he could handle the pain to play full-time. So, I said, ‘Let’s get you into coaching and be a student coach.’ He was great at it all: the analytics, the breakdowns, the video and coaching out on the field.
“As a graduate assistant, I always thought he’s going to move up. I thought this guy was going to be a great coach one day, no question about it. Great skills, good learner, quick learner, very smart, tremendous teacher, could teach in detail, which I thought, at a young age, was pretty impressive.”
Instead of becoming the next Eric Weddle in the NFL, Gannon began a different path toward coaching in the NFL.
Petrino helped Gannon break into the NFL
From Louisville to going with Petrino to the Atlanta Falcons, Gannon became a 24-year-old quality control coach in the NFL working with Petrino and Mike Zimmer. From there, Gannon went to the Rams to work in their scouting department for three years to build his personnel acumen.
Then, Gannon became a defensive quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans working with Gregg Williams and Jeff Fisher. Later, he coached defensive backs for Mike Zimmer with the Minnesota Vikings and Frank Reich with the Indianapolis Colts. Most recently, in 2021, Gannon became a first-year defensive coordinator in Philadelphia.
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“Jon was a really good motivator on the field,” Petrino said. “One thing that’s unique about Jon is his ability to motivate and relate to the player and to the thing they’re going through. He understands it and can still push them to do their best and get better. That’s a really good quality to have as a coach. What stood out about Jon as a graduate assistant and in Atlanta, was his ability to communicate with everyone.
“That extended to layers of staff at Louisville and the administration and the front office people and the boosters. He gets along with everybody. There was always a smile on his face and energy and passion and he was comfortable in any situation.”
Gannon’s development comes as no surprise to those who knew him from an early age
Gannon’s steady growth into an accomplished coach didn’t come as a surprise to St. Ignatius athletics director Rory Fitzpatrick.
“He was obviously a tremendous football player,” Fitzpatrick said. “He made it to the state championships in the 110-meter hurdles and was an all-around tremendous athlete. He would have been a great safety if he didn’t have his hip injury, the Bo Jackson injury. I could see Jon being a great coach at any level with his emotional intelligence, his love for the game.
“He loves being a part of something. Where he’s at right now, if not for that injury, I don’t know if he starts on that path so early. He spoke with our kids, and he got emotional about the injury, about the curveball that threw him in life. You choose the way you handle that. You can get down on yourself or do what he did. He went on a new path, and he took every opportunity and made the absolute most of it.”
Petrino believes Gannon will do a great job if he gets the Texans’ head coach job
From that major life change to what he’s doing now, Gannon has emerged as a strong head coaching candidate. Gannon also interviewed for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching positions.
Gannon has had important follow-up meetings with the Texans’ leadership group since his second interview in Houston. Furthermore, he has made a strong impression throughout the hiring cycle around the NFL, according to league sources. If the Texans hire Gannon, Petrino expressed confidence that he’s ready for the moment.
“No doubt,” Petrino said. “I hope he gets it, and he’ll do a great job. These are tough jobs, but he’ll do a great job. I think he’ll be able to adapt everything to the players. It’s the players that make the plays. You’ve got to get them in a good situation. You definitely saw this year he had the ability to change things up.
“He’ll do well. He’s a really good communicator. He’s got the ability to get along well and work with everybody, the coaches, the front office, the trainers, all the different people. He has very strong beliefs in what he wants to get done. Being the communicator that he is, I think he’ll adapt to that very well.”
