Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon Isn't Worried About Inexperienced Staff

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon told Peter King his hires for both offensive and defensive coordinator were based on other factors besides age.

The Arizona Cardinals enter a possible rebuild with quite the youth movement within the coaching staff. 

Head coach Jonathan Gannon is 40-years-old. His two coordinators in OC Drew Petzing (35) and Nick Rallis (29, youngest coordinator in the league) are both younger than him. 

Gannon doesn't have any head coaching experience. Neither of his two coordinators have experience in their current positions, either. They're all also being overseen by a first-time general manager in Monti Ossenfort. 

Ossenfort aside, the Cardinals are banking on a young trio to turn around their 4-13 football team. 

NBC Sports' Peter King spoke with Gannon and touched on that very subject:

"FMIA: Reportedly, you are going to hire 29- and 35-year-old coordinators (defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, 29, and 35-year-old OC Drew Petzing). You have conviction on both young coaches?

“One hundred percent convicted. You know, I talked about in the interview and the other guys that I interviewed for those jobs were all on the younger side, too, probably. One defensive guy was a little bit older. Age isn’t a prerequisite for firepower. I’ve always thought that," Gannon said. 

"When we got to Philly, we had the youngest staff in the NFL. There’s a reason that our [players] ran into the building to come to work. I love that. I’m gonna have some guys with major, major experience worked into the staff because I value that, too. But 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.”

Time will tell if Gannon can get the most out of his inexperienced staff, but he seems sold enough to at least find out in the desert. 

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