The Arizona Cardinals have the worst coach in the NFL for the 2023 season, according to one NFL site.
First-year coach Jonathan Gannon, who was the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator last season, comes in at No. 32 out of 32 NFL head coaches in the 2023 NFL coach rankings recently compiled by The 33rd Team.
Of Gannon, Ross Tucker wrote: “It took me about five minutes into my first time meeting Jonathan Gannon to realize he was going to be a head coach in the league. He will have to be impressive for longer than that to turn around an Arizona Cardinals team that went from giving out contract extensions like the Oprah meme to rebuilding in a matter of months.”
Gannon comes in behind the Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, who is No. 31 on the list, and the Indianapolis Colts’ Shane Steichen, who is No. 30. All three of those coaches are first-time NFL head coaches this season.
The 33rd Team has the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid ranked No. 1 on its list, with the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick No. 2.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin comes in at No. 3 and Sean Payton, the new coach of the Denver Broncos who was also a candidate for the Cardinals’ job, comes in at No. 4.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, whom Gannon worked with previously, is No. 5 on the list.
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What 2023 NFL coach rankings are saying about Jonathan Gannon:
Pro Football Network didn’t rank him because he is a first-year coach.
Dallas Robinson wrote: “After leading the Eagles’ defense for the past two years, Jonathan Gannon will take over a Cardinals roster that needs to get younger and deeper. Kyler Murray may not be ready to start the season after tearing his ACL in December, so 2023 might be a bit of a reset in the desert. Gannon has hired an incredibly young staff, with both coordinators age 35 or younger.”
NBC Sports Edge also didn’t rank Gannon.
Patrick Daugherty wrote: “The 17th game helped, but Jonathan Gannon’s 2022 Eagles defense had the third most sacks in NFL history. Then it didn’t lay a finger on Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl as it forced only two punts. It’s tempting to say something snide like “mixed season,” but it wasn’t. Gannon was one of the league’s most successful assistants and was pursued as such. He ended up with a gut-job gig, albeit one that allegedly has its franchise signal caller. Gannon has been all smiles and bromance as he begins to confront his Kyler Murray conundrum — and hopeful savior. It seemed Murray needed an older-school coach like Sean Payton to get him to buy into a system, any system. Gannon, at least publicly, is taking the opposite approach, trying to win Murray over with positivity. It’s tempting to describe such problems as superficial — isn’t the players being good the only thing that matters? — but Gannon’s Murray strategy could be the most fateful decision he makes during his time in the desert. If it works, he’s a 40-year-old first-time head coach with a cornerstone quarterback. If it fails, Gannon will be coordinating again by 2025.”
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Philly Voice had Gannon ranked No. 28 among NFL head coaches.
Shamus Clancy wrote: “How can Cardinals fans feel optimistic after watching Gannon’s defense get slaughtered in the Super Bowl, only to see their team hire him shortly after? This has one-and-done potential to me.”
Sportsnaut ranked first-year NFL head coaches by their position to succeed and they had Gannon last on the list.
Andrew Buller-Russ wrote: “The main reason why the Cardinals appear to be punting on the upcoming season is because they don’t have much of a choice. Franchise QB Kyler Murray tore his ACL late in the year, on December 12, 2022, which likely means he won’t be back to 100% until 12 months from then or Week 14 of this season. While it’s possible Murray returns a month or so earlier, even a return by Week 10 (November 12), doesn’t give the Cardinals much hope to have a strong season in Gannon’s first year as head coach. In a way, that’s ok for a defensive specialist like Gannon, who now takes over a Cardinals defense that allowed the second-most points per game a season ago. Now he’ll have time to implement his scheme, identifying the right fits for his style of play before being under pressure to win in a competitive NFC West.”
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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