One of the Philadelphia Phillies’ managers left

 

On the day of the NFC championship game, Jonathan Gannon, sporting a sneer and sunglasses, rolled down the window of his black SUV, turned to face the camera filming him from a car’s length away, and exclaimed, “We’re going to f—ing gut these guys!”

The tone was established when the video went viral.

At the time, Gannon was the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was traveling to Lincoln Financial Field, where his team would eventually defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31–7. Josh Johnson and Brock Purdy, two quarterbacks, were taken out of the game by Gannon’s defense, which sealed their ticket to Super Bowl LVII.

Gannon was a divisive player during his two years with the Eagles, but following the victory on January 29, his fame in Philadelphia peaked. The previous week, his team defeated the New York Giants 38-7 in a divisional playoff game, amassing 70 sacks during the regular season—the third-highest total ever.

Gannon, who had made many interviews for head coach positions over the previous two hiring cycles, was questioned about his future during an on-field postgame interview with a local television station.

“I’m staying in Philly,” he declared. “This is where I’m staying, good or bad.”

Everything altered in the weeks that followed.

In pursuit of a head coach, Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort made an improper call to Gannon in the lead-up to the Super Bowl—a call that eventually led to tampering charges. Gannon kept it a secret from the Eagles, as did his plan to interview Arizona. A league source claims that the Eagles were greatly dissatisfied by Gannon’s lack of openness since it negatively impacted their chances of keeping Vic Fangio, their desired replacement.

In the Super Bowl, the Eagles’ defense allowed 17 points in the fourth quarter, which contributed to their 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. After Gannon was hired by the Cardinals two days later, the Eagles intensified their hunt for a new defensive coordinator from a reduced pool of candidates.

The Eagles’ defense is ranked in the bottom half or very near the bottom of various statistical categories, and Sean Desai, Gannon’s replacement, was demoted as a result of his departure, which sent shockwaves through Philadelphia.

When Gannon returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Fox for the Eagles vs. Cardinals New Year’s Eve game, he will be on the opposing sidelines, attempting to play spoiler against a club that is having difficulty finding its Super Bowl form.

It’s the “next game on the schedule” for Gannon and the 3-12 Cardinals, against a “very excellent football club.” The head coach in his first year will have a “compete, compete, compete” mentality.

“There were a lot of special moments last year and in 2021, and Jonathan Gannon was a big part of that,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Obviously we didn’t finish the job last year, which all of us have the taste in our mouths of, dang, wish we finished the job.”

“I cherish our connection; I always support Coach Gannon, but this week I will certainly not be doing so,” the speaker said.by Icon Sportswire/John Jones

Gannon got a call in the days following the NFC Championship Game from Ossenfort, who had started work on January 16.

Ossenfort has been keeping an eye on Gannon for some time. During the summer of 2022, Ossenfort, then the director of player personnel for the Tennessee Titans, had discussions with prospective head coaches he would like to interview should he become general manager. Gannon was among those.

According to Gannon, Ossenfort congratulated him on making it to the Super Bowl on the January call and asked whether he would be interested in interviewing for the Cardinals’ opening, should it become available following the Super Bowl.

Though he didn’t think the call violated any regulations, Gannon told the GM he was intrigued.

“This isn’t a done deal,’ Ostenfort didn’t say,” Gannon stated to ESPN the previous week.

“I completely forgot about it,” the speaker said.

But the call was against the NFL’s anti-tampering code since it happened during a no-contact period while Gannon was still coaching in the playoffs. A few days after the deadline for requesting Eagles coordinators for head-coaching interviews, Ossenfort was hired.

In addition to the call being illegal, league sources claimed that the Eagles were behind the eight ball since they were unaware of the current situation with Gannon and the Cardinals. They had no doubts that Gannon would return for a third season at the moment.

Rather, according to an Eagles source, Ossenfort didn’t contact Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman about requesting an interview with Gannon until Friday before the Super Bowl, or around 10 days after the tampering call between Ossenfort and Gannon.

Multiple reports claim that the Eagles considered Fangio as their top option to replace Gannon since he designed one of the most well-liked defensive schemes in the league. Had Gannon communicated his intention to interview with the Cardinals, the Eagles might have initiated the process of finding replacement players and, crucially, informed Fangio about the possible vacancy. Fangio was well-liked in the building and had a contract with the organization, having agreed to a two-week advisory position before the Super Bowl.

But Fangio was also being pursued by the Miami Dolphins. He had made an unofficial commitment to join the Dolphins staff in the run-up to the Super Bowl because the Eagles DC position appeared to be taken. According to reports, the Eagles front office attempted to persuade Fangio to resign from the Dolphins after learning that Arizona was recruiting Gannon, but Fangio had already made up his mind at that point.

It was announced early on Super Bowl Sunday that Gannon would be interviewed by the Cardinals the following day. By then, according to league insiders, news was already making its way through the NFL that Gannon and the Cardinals had accomplished more than anybody had disclosed.

Last week, Gannon refuted the rumor that he was close to signing a contract with the Cardinals by Sunday, describing it as “100% incorrect.” Gannon stated he didn’t have an answer when informed that the Eagles thought he wasn’t forthcoming.

Arizona formally hired Gannon on February 14, two days following the Super Bowl. Fangio was named the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator on February 15.

“During the hiring process, due to our position on the hiring date when we hired Monti, the window had kind of closed,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill stated, seated to Gannon’s right, during his opening press conference. “We submitted permission request forms for some of the coaches who were eliminated because we didn’t want to cause them any distractions.” Thus, we proceeded in the same manner with Jonathan and other prospects.”

The Cardinals self-reported a phone discussion between Ossenfort and Gannon in the days following the NFC Championship Game that violated the league’s anti-tampering code, according to a joint statement published by the Eagles and Cardinals six minutes prior to the commencement of the draft on April 27.

The teams decided to settle the dispute by trading third-round selections in the 2023 draft, with the Cardinals getting Philadelphia’s fifth-round pick in 2024.