“Our players were prepped. I did not do a good enough job myself to put them in a position to make the play.” – Former Eagles defensive coordinator and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on Philadelphia’s defense against Kansas City in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII
“If Kyler Murray isn’t here, I don’t take this job. I think this offense will look much different…I think we can take him to another level and unleash his full skill set.” – Gannon on coaching Cardinals QB Kyler Murray next season
“If I’m an Eagles fan, or a member of Eagle brass, I am thrilled that this excellent quarterback — who will be just 25 on opening day 2023 — is the quarterback I’m rooting for to take us to the promised land.” – King on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
“You could see the calm Pat had. In these moments, one of the biggest moments of the entire season, Andy trusted Pat in that moment to make the right decision.” – Chiefs assistant coach Matt Nagy on QB Patrick Mahomes’ poise when a play was lined up in the wrong formation in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII
STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 20, 2023 – Peter King speaks with former Eagles defensive coordinator, and recently hired Cardinals head coach, Jonathan Gannon in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also looks back on the Chiefs’ offensive play-calling in their Super Bowl LVII victory, the Eagles’ future, the current NFL coaching cycle, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
JONATHAN GANNON
Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to King on Philadelphia’s coverage of Kansas City’s back-to-back wide-open touchdowns in the fourth quarter: “Our players were prepped. I did not do a good enough job myself to put them in a position to make the play. I didn’t do a good enough job to get out of the call what I wanted out of the call. I didn’t give them the tools that they needed to win the down.”
Gannon on how he learned that the Cardinals had requested to interview him: “(Eagles GM) Howie Roseman told me after the game, ‘You won’t be coming back with us to Philadelphia. You’re staying here to interview for the Cardinals job.’”
Gannon on coaching Cardinals QB Kyler Murray next season: “If Kyler Murray isn’t here, I don’t take this job. I think this offense will look much different…I think we can take him to another level and unleash his full skill set.”
Gannon on hiring 29- and 35-year-old coordinators in Arizona: “As far as who’s running the offense and the defense, age was never a factor for me – what was in their brain and what was in their heart is. It’s capacity and character. That’s what I’m looking for in a staff.”
Gannon on his coaching philosophy: “One of my biggest mentors is (former Vikings head coach) Mike Zimmer. Is my personality the same as Mike Zimmer? No, it is not. Am I in alignment with a lot of things that he did as a head coach for discipline, accountability, player performance? You bet your ass I am.”
King on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: “If I’m an Eagles fan, or a member of Eagle brass, I am thrilled that this excellent quarterback — who will be just 25 on opening day 2023 — is the quarterback I’m rooting for to take us to the promised land. He will, or he will absolutely exhaust himself trying.”
CHIEFS
Chiefs senior offensive assistant/QB coach Matt Nagy on head coach Andy Reid’s white board of plays: “He has about 27 different markers on his board that you can pick from and he wants you to space out the colors so you don’t have two black diagrams next to each other. By the end of the week, you get to Thursday or Friday and it looks like probably what you saw. It can look very confusing. That’s why we call it the ‘Beautiful Mind Board.’”
King on Reid’s decision to call the “Corn Dog” play in Super Bowl LVII that resulted in a Kadarius Toney touchdown: “Kansas City had called it one time all season — in the second quarter of the season-opener, coincidentally in this same stadium against the Cardinals, on the 23rd offensive snap of the season. Reid called 77 quarters worth of plays, exactly 1,242 snaps over 19 games, without opting for the Jet Motion reverse again. Then, on the biggest snap of the season, Reid called for it. That is brilliant coaching.”
Nagy on QB Patrick Mahomes’ reaction to TE Travis Kelce accidentally lining up in the wrong formation before WR Skyy Moore’s touchdown in the fourth quarter: “You could see the calm Pat had. In these moments, one of the biggest moments of the entire season, Andy trusted Pat in that moment to make the right decision.”
Nagy: “I’m telling you, Pat just doesn’t make wrong decisions there. It would have been easy with the play clock running down and the formation messed up for Pat to turn around, start walking to the sidelines and signal for time. When he didn’t, I just figured, ‘He’s got something.’”
NEWS & NOTES
King on former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy taking the Commanders’ OC job: “Eric Bieniemy going to Washington is good for the Commanders, horrible for the NFL. It’s beyond shameful that a two-time Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator makes a mostly lateral move (though with full play-designing and calling power, which Bieniemy didn’t have in Kansas City) while the NFL has devoted so many resources to the paucity of Black coaches in the league.”
King on Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo: “Anarumo’s a dynamic person, his players love him, and yet he got to the finals of just one job — Arizona. Good for the Bengals that he stays, but I hope he gets longer looks next coaching cycle.”
King on the teammates pushing quarterbacks forward in short-yardage situations: “I believe, through no Deep Throats, that the (Competition) Committee will try to adjust the rule that allows players to push the quarterback from behind, rather than the quarterback simply trying to make the short yardage with no teammate propulsion.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
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A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
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