January 21, 2021

Potential Eagles defensive coordinator candidate: Colts DB coach Jonathan Gannon

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Now that the Philadelphia Eagles have found their new head coach in former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni, the next steps will be to surround him with his new set of coordinators.

The more important initial hire will be the defensive coordinator, since Sirianni comes from an offensive-minded background, and one name that makes a lot of sense is Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon, as noted by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated:

We discussed Jonathan Gannon's stock here in @theMMQB (https://t.co/augQ2TBoVJ). He's red hot. Would be Josh McDaniels' DC in Philly. Is a leading candidate in Atlanta.

FYI: Gannon and Staley are VERY close. They'd been lined up as co-DCs on McDaniels' Cleveland staff in '20. https://t.co/uJDW3PpeuB
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 21, 2021

Sirianni isn't mentioned in Breer's tweet, but certainly, he has some kind of relationship with Gannon, having worked together on the Colts' staff the last three years. The Eagles would be in a position to offer Gannon a better DC job than the Chargers would, as he would theoretically have control over the defense, while in LA, under Brandon Staley, he would be second fiddle to a defensive-minded head coach.

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Here's Gannon's coaching history, via the Colts' website:

• Louisville (2006): Graduate Assistant
• Atlanta Falcons (2007): Defensive Assistant/Quality Control
• St. Louis Rams (2009-2011): Scout
• Tennessee Titans (2012-2013): Defensive Assistant/Quality Control
• Minnesota Vikings (2014-2017): Assistant Defensive Backs/Quality Control
• Indianapolis Colts (2018-2020): Defensive Backs/Cornerbacks

During those three seasons in Indy, the Colts have had a nice pass defense that has created turnovers:

Colts pass D	Points	Pass yards	INT (rank)	Defensive DVOA
2018	10	16	9	11
2019	18	23	7	19
2020	10	20	7	7

And from a coaching standpoint, Gannon has helped develop a number of younger players, like Rock Ya-Sin (24), Kenny Moore (25), Julian Blackmon (22), and Khari Willis (24).

Maybe we should get another tracker going.

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