Jonathan Gannon didn’t flinch, or shrink under heavy pressure. The moment wasn’t too big for him.
It was a much lower profile setting than his current assignment: devising defensive schemes to compete with the most talented players in the NFL.
As a high school basketball player, just like now as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Gannon was prepared and ready for the moment.
A football standout who earned a scholarship to Louisville and also excelled for the basketball team and competed in track and field, Gannon was standing at the free throw line after being fouled with seconds remaining in the state championship basketball game.
Although shooting free throws wasn’t his forte, Gannon swished both shots to clinch the victory for Saint Ignatius’ first state championship in school history.
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Jonathan Gannon’s roots set him up well for a potential role as the Houston Texans’ head coach
“The game was on the line, a tight game, about 10 seconds left, season on the line, and Jonathan was not a high-percentage free throw shooter,” said Rory Fitzpatrick, Saint Ignatius’ longtime athletic director. “He didn’t touch the rim. He swished both of them. He was so confident he would be the guy to win the game for us. He stepped up and banged both of them in.
“In all honesty, we have a school with a long tradition of great athletes. Jonathan was one of the best. I’m still convinced he could have played Division I basketball. His outside shot could have become a little better. He was one of the best ball handlers and his defense was incredible. That’s all about attitude and passion. He would dig in and guard the other team’s best player. I remember him guarding a kid who made it to the NBA who was 6-foot-9. Jonathan would always step up to the challenge. He was even in our chess club. Smart guy, great person.”
Did Gannon ‘knock it out of the park’ with his Texans interview?
Nearly two decades later, Gannon, 39, has emerged as a strong contender for the Texans’ head coach vacancy. The Eagles defensive coordinator interviewed in Houston on Saturday after previously interviewing virtually with the AFC South franchise. He has also interviewed with the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings during this cycle.
Gannon has “knocked it out of the park” and “crushed” his meetings with NFL teams. Impressing them with his knowledge of the game, creativity, energy, detailed plans about strategy, staff and personnel, and his passion for the game, according to multiple league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
What are sources saying about Gannon?
One member of an NFL team’s search committee said of Gannon’s interview: “He knows the answer before you even ask him the question.”
One NFL executive described Gannon as Brandon Staley 2.0. Staley and Gannon are close friends who grew up competing against each other in youth sports in Ohio.
“Incredibly intelligent and passionate,” a source said of Gannon. “This guy is a superstar. He’s worked with great people like George Paton and Rob Brzezinski with the Vikings. It says a lot that those guys think the world of the guy.”
Gannon is respected by players and coaches he has worked with
Vikings Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith has told teammates and coaches that Gannon is the best coach he’s ever worked with. Indianapolis Colts cornerback Xavier Rhodes had a resurgent season two years ago when he reunited with his former Vikings position coach after Rhodes’ two shaky final seasons in Minnesota.
He finished the year with two interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and one touchdown. All while allowing just a 52.4 completion percentage and an 84.6 passer rating on passes thrown in his direction. Former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and his son, Adam Zimmer, swear by Gannon’s intellect, work ethic, and ability to get the most out of players.
Former NFL defensive coordinator Gregg Williams spoke highly on the Eagles’ DC
None of this comes as a surprise to those who know Gannon well, including veteran former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Williams worked with Gannon when he was a scout for the Rams and with the Tennessee Titans as a quality control coach.
“Jonathan is a really good person with a great upbringing who’s never been afraid to outwork everyone around him and never afraid of any tasks,” Williams said. “He’s had to work his way up in the business. Those are the guys I love the most.
“If he winds up as a head coach, you have to have a working understanding of all of the other people at all of those levels and those positions they occupy. I think Jonathan does a great job of being a great people person. He’s sharp. He’s a detailed person. He’s a good football man. When you start out as a defensive assistant and quality control, no one can do their job without the information that’s passed on from him. Players want to know, ‘How can I be better? And he has a knowledge and a feel that is really impactful to help someone improve.
“When he was with the Rams working for Mike Martz, he was in the scouting department and that background in personnel evaluation is invaluable for a coach. In Tennessee, he was a defensive quality control coach and Jerry Gray was the defensive coordinator. Jonathan did a great job. He never had to be babysat. He never had to be overly coached. He understood what needed to be done and had a feel for the game. He always had the answer. He had some of his own ideas and he did a really good job. We stay close and talk back and forth, and I’m really proud of what he did last year.”
Gannon checks a lot of the boxes that the Texans are looking for as a head coach
Gannon and retired former NFL quarterback Josh McCown are the first candidates to get second interviews with the Texans. While there could be others, Gannon is regarded as having a strong chance — along with McCown — to land the job and replace David Culley, who was fired after a 4-13 season.
Gannon appears to check a lot of boxes for what Texans general manager Nick Caserio is seeking in a head coach. The fellow Cleveland native is regarded as extremely smart. He’s young but not too young. He started his coaching career in college as a student assistant at Louisville under Bobby Petrino before stints as a quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons and Titans, an assistant defensive backs coach with the Vikings, three seasons coaching the Colts’ cornerbacks, and subsequently hired by Eagles coach Nick Sirianni last year.
Gannon is known as an avid reader, focusing on books about leadership, team-building, and social elements to bring the best out of people. He embraces analytics. The Eagles are one of the most analytics-driven franchises in the NFL.
Gannon’s philosophy is simple when it comes to his approach to coaching.
“My job is to make you the best player that you can be,” Gannon said. “There’s a bunch of different ways to go about that, but that’s ultimately how I always thought in my mind. When I talk to a player or someone that’s been under my watch, that’s my job.”
The Eagles’ defense had a strong finish to the 2021 NFL season
After a rough start to the season, going 2-5 through seven games while competing against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, the San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo, the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady, and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Derek Carr, the Eagles finished 7-3 to finish the season and earn a spot in the playoffs. The defense ranked ninth in scoring defense after the 2-5 start, allowing just 20 points per game during that span. The Eagles finished 10th in total defense.
“JG, that’s my guy,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said at the close of the Eagles’ season. “Just in terms of his football IQ and how he views the game is so interesting to just have conversations about how he sees certain things fitting. The one thing he did all year that was awesome for us and helped us a lot was letting each position group and specifically each position know how they fit into the scheme.
“I think as a player, you always want to know ‘why are things happening?’ For him to be able to do that in a personable way I think is rare. He’s got a lot of respect around here.”
The Eagles allowed 328.8 yards of total offense per game. The defense made progress as Gannon adjusted as a first-year defensive coordinator.
“I really believe in Jonathan Gannon,” Sirianni said. “If I didn’t, there’d be no way he’d be in this building. I have so much confidence and faith in him and the job he can do. I think he’d be a great head football coach. He has all the intangibles and all the qualities that you need. Obviously, I’d never want to lose coach Gannon, but I think he’s more than ready.”
A devastating injury put Gannon on his current career path
Perhaps Gannon doesn’t become a high-level coach this fast if not for a devastating hip injury as a freshman at Louisville.
During a game against Cincinnati, Gannon was dropping back into coverage and bumped into another player. He suffered a posterior dislocation of his hip with the femur bone going through the hip socket, similar to Raiders running back Bo Jackson’s injury.
A surgeon advised Gannon that it was an injury usually suffered during a car accident. His football career was over, and his teammates’ comparisons to former NFL cornerback Jason Sehorn ended. His coaching career was just getting started.
Petrino made him a student assistant and told him he would hire him as a graduate assistant. Petrino hired Gannon to work for the Falcons. He could have gone with Petrino to Arkansas, but he was hooked on the NFL. So, he joined the Rams’ scouting department and worked there for three years.
Gannon’s love for sports continues to be evident
“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.”
During the Saint Ignatius basketball team’s state playoff run last year, Gannon, in his first year coaching in Philadelphia, got on a Zoom to talk to the players.
“Jon is a good guy, he’s a good person, he cares deeply,” Fitzpatrick said. “He talked to our kids about his experience at Saint Ignatius and how much it meant for him to go through it all with his best friends. For him to be as busy as he is and go-go-go all the time, for him to take the time out with the kids, that was tremendous. He has a way about him. He’s engaging for anybody he talks to. I remember when he was in school and talking with his friends and adults, he has the ability to move between different age groups and find a way to connect with people.
“In coaching, there is no secret sauce. What separates people is, can a coach gain the trust of his guys? Can he get elite players to buy in? The NFL is a rough, rough world. When I think of Jon and coach Staley, and I’ve met both of them, their character, trustworthiness, those guys have relatability. That matters a lot.”
If he doesn’t get the job as Texans’ head coach, Gannon will likely be a hot commodity next offseason
Since working with Williams for two NFL teams, Gannon has continued to progress. If he doesn’t land the Texans’ job, Gannon is expected to be a hot commodity in the next hiring cycle. Authenticity is a trait that can’t be taught, and it’s a quality that Gannon is known for.
“I think he’ll be himself, I think he has to be himself,” Williams said. “He’s had the opportunity to be around some pretty successful people: Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Mike Zimmer, Frank Reich, and now all of the people in Philly. I believe you learn from different people, but you’ve got to be who you are. At this level, all the really good players can sense if you don’t know what you’re doing. Respect and trust are earned. He has no qualms or worries about doing it his way.
“He’s not a person that’s satisfied. He’s always looking to grow and challenge himself to be better. Those are the good, fun people to be around. I’ve heard him say, ‘I don’t put my head on the pillow unless I’ve learned something new today.’ We do that or this game passes us by. We’ve got to be able to adjust and he has and he’s grown very well.”