Jonathan Gannon Won the Press Conference; Can He Win When it Matters?

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon won the first of many battles at his introductory press conference, yet fans have seen this movie before.

PHOENIX -- I'll bring this story back to the day before Jonathan Gannon was officially introduced as the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. 

I did a podcast with Eagles Today Publisher Ed Kracz who spent plenty of time with and writing about Gannon during his two-year stint as defensive coordinator in Philadelphia (which you can watch here), and there was one giant takeaway from the 22 minute session: Energy. 

Gannon flashed that energy in a brief video tweeted out on Tuesday when he embraced Kyler Murray at the team facility just hours after completing a deal to become Arizona's next head coach. 

FIRED UP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/flHpfermpC

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 14, 2023

Kracz hammered home Gannon's energetic persona. The tweet above showcased it. After 30 minutes of Gannon talking on Thursday in front of reporters such as myself and Cardinals players, I could vouch for the vibe in the room. 

"I’ll head some of this stuff off right now before, we get to questions and things like that, but just know this, we’re going to be very adaptable," said Gannon. 

"I’m talking the Arizona Cardinals. This is what our team’s going to be. We’re going to be adaptable; we’re going to be violent, we’re going to be explosive, and we’re going to be smart. All three phases go into that, and we will maximize the talents of the players that we have. That’s how we’re going to win games, and don’t get it twisted— we’re going to win games."

Especially after meeting with Gannon personally, shaking his hand and exchanging a few pleasantries before doing a small group interview with other media members (which can be found here), I understood what Michael Bidwill and Monti Ossenfort saw. 

I like Gannon, but I've also been around football enough to know games aren't won in front of microphones. Guys who had less than ideal press conferences (Nick Sirianni, who Gannon coached under in Philly) went on to do impressive things while other well-received hires went south quickly. 

Cardinals fans are well aware of that, too. Plenty were duped by Kliff Kingsbury upon his arrival as a trendy, young offensive-minded coach who ultimately crashed and burned after four seasons. 

That would explain some of the hesitation with Gannon's introduction. Factor that into Gannon being the last candidate Arizona interviewed and him not exactly being a prominent name compared to others, and it's easy to see why fans will believe it when they see it. 

The NFL is a result-driven league, but the job with the Cardinals may take some time. 

Arizona's franchise quarterback is coming off a torn ACL. A 4-13 team is set to lose 30+ free agents and could trade their superstar receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, too. Winning isn't exactly synonymous with the Cardinals, and 2023 may not be any different. 

When Gannon was asked if he believed if the Cardinals were either in a rebuild or capable of making the postseason, his answer was... interesting. 

“I’m never going to put a ceiling or a floor on any roster or any player that is under my watch. I know that there is work to be done, but I like the core pieces here. Through Monti and I—and Michael— we’re going to turn over every stone that we can to help improve the roster," Gannon said. 

"Funny little story, we were in the interview on Monday and Monti [Ossenfort] asked me a question. I asked him the question right back, ‘Well what do you think about that Monti?’ He says, ‘Well, I want to hear what you say first.’ I told him, and he disagreed a little bit and I said, ‘Well, I understand your point, but here’s my point.’ I think that we’re going to have a really good relationship. Here’s where we did not disagree on is we’re going to do everything that we can to put the best people out there to win games. There’s different ways to do that and we will explore all those options, but that’s what we’re going to do. To summarize that, I’m excited about the people that we have here, and I’m excited about who we need to add.”   

It sounded as if Ossenfort and Gannon were on different pages when it came to the current state of Arizona's roster, but that's an article for another time (which is coming soon). 

The point is: Nobody really knows what to expect out of the Cardinals next season for various reasons, and that includes either the head coach or general manager. 

So it's understandable when season ticket holders are charged fairly high percentages more to watch a 4-13 team that may not improve right away, especially under a man in charge who has no experience fully running a football team. 

Gannon isn't in the likes of Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan. You won't find him scheming Marquise Brown open to lead Arizona's offense to 40 points per game. 

Yet the Cardinals simply need Gannon to be himself, which projects as an energetic coach that can rally the troops and change the culture in Arizona. 

It's not as if he comes from a "losing breeds losing" factory from the Eagles, either. His defense was a large part of why Philadelphia made it all the way to Super Bowl LVII. 

His press conference can be considered a win. Gannon said the right things and seems to be the spark plug this franchise needs. The players in attendance nodded in agreement with nearly everything he said, perhaps showing a sign that he'll capture the locker room with ease. 

However fans won't care about how likeable he is - or what he said or did this offseason - if results don't come. Fans in Arizona deserve to see winning football on a regular basis. 

Eventually, to quote the late Macho Man Randy Savage, the cream will rise to the top. 

We'll see how sweet Gannon is.

Click Here to Follow All Cardinals on Facebook

Click Here to Subscribe to All Cardinals on YouTube

Arizona Cardinals Top Stories

Kyler Murray is Elite, Says Jonathan Gannon

Top Three Quotes From Jonathan Gannon's Press Conference

Cardinals Coordinator Tracker

Gannon's Leadership Shines Already

Jonathan Gannon Will Use Lessons From Eagles for Kyler Murray

Byron Murphy Lands on Best 25-and-Under Free Agent List