The Super Bowl losers lost both of their coordinators on Tuesday, as the Arizona Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach and the Indianapolis Colts hired Shane Steichen for the same position.
Both coordinators were calling some of the best units in the NFL in 2022, and it was evidenced by the Philadelphia Eagles’ insane success this year.
Now, before Gannon gets roasted by some, just because the Eagles’ defense had a bad game, does not mean that he is all of a sudden a bad candidate to be a head coach. Both men are two of the best on their respective sides of the ball and both are deserving of being head coaches.
The Cardinals and the Colts both have some issues on their hands, though. The Colts do not have any semblance of a franchise quarterback on their roster, but they do hold a top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and given Steichen’s background, it makes sense if Indy decides to select one.
As for the Cardinals, their situation is a bit difference as they have Kyler Murray and he is under a contract extension, but he tore his ACL during the 2022 season, may not be ready until mid-season, and questions about his commitment to the game are valid.
Both teams have to work through some issues, but both made solid hires, in my opinion. I especially like the Colts’ hiring of Steichen, as his QB development background will certainly help, but if we’re being honest, Frank Reich, their former head coach also had that type of background, so we’ll see what happens there.
The Cardinals welcome Gannon after hiring a new GM in Monti Ossenfort to replace Steve Keim and Kliff Kingsbury at their respective positions.
We’ll see if some of the pending Eagles’ free agents follow each former coordinator to their new destination