Jonathan Gannon’s departure is still having an impact on the Eagles.

The day before the NFC championship game, Jonathan Gannon, sporting a frown and sunglasses, rolled down the window of his black SUV, stared into the camera that was watching him from a car’s length away, and declared, “We’re going to f—ing gut these people.” When he arrived at the stadium,.

Heading to Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, where his team would eventually thrash the San Francisco 49ers 31-7, was Gannon, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator at the time. The defense of Gannon punched its way to Super Bowl LVII by taking quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Brock Purdy out of the contest.

With the Eagles for two years, Gannon was a divisive figure, but following the Jan. 29 triumph, his star in Philadelphia peaked. His squad defeated the New York Giants 38-7 in a divisional playoff game the previous week, amassing 70 sacks during the regular season—the third-highest total ever.

After the game, Gannon, who had gone through two hiring cycles with many head coach interviews under his belt, was asked about his future in an on-field interview with a local television station.

He said that Philly was keeping him. I am staying here for good or bad.

During the Super Bowl, Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort called Gannon in violation of the law in an attempt to find a head coach. This call resulted in allegations of tampering. According to a league source, Gannon’s lack of transparency disappointed the Eagles mostly because it hampered their chances of keeping desired replacement Vic Fangio. Gannon also did not inform the Eagles of his intention to meet with Arizona.

With their defense surrendering 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Eagles fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 38–35 in the Super Bowl. The Eagles increased their hunt for a new defensive coordinator from a reduced pool of candidates two days after Gannon was hired by the Cardinals.

With Sean Desai, Gannon’s replacement, demoted and the Eagles having a defense that is in or near the bottom of multiple statistical categories, Gannon’s departure sent shockwaves that are still being felt in Philadelphia.

Gannon will be on the other sideline, attempting to play spoiler against a club that is having trouble regaining its Super Bowl form, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Fox when he returns for the Eagles-Cardinals New Year’s Eve game.

A game versus a “very excellent football team” is just the “next game on the schedule” for Gannon and the 3-12 Cardinals. Compete, compete, compete is how the first-year head coach plans to approach his game.

Although there were many memorable moments in both the previous year and the year 2021, with Jonathan Gannon playing a significant role in both, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni stated, “Obviously we didn’t finish the job last year, which all of us have the taste in our mouths of, gosh, wish we finished the job.”

I cherish our connection, and I always support Coach Gannon; however, this week will be different, obviously.

Gannon was contacted by Ossenfort, who had started work on January 16, a few days following the NFC Championship Game.

For some time, Ossenfort had been keeping an eye on Gannon. In the summer of 2022, Ossenfort engaged in discussions with prospective head coaches he would like to interview should he become general manager while serving as the Tennessee Titans’ director of player personnel. One of them was Gannon.

Gannon claims that during the January conversation, Ossenfort congratulated him on making it to the Super Bowl and asked if he would be interested in interviewing for the Cardinals’ position, should it become available after the game.

While Gannon expressed curiosity about the call, he thought it did not violate any guidelines. He told the GM.

It wasn’t like, ‘This is a done deal,'” according to Gannon, who spoke with ESPN last week.

“To be honest, I kind of forgot about it.

Nevertheless, the call was illegal due to the NFL’s anti-tampering code, as it occurred during a no-contact period while Gannon was still coaching in the playoffs. Not too long after the Eagles coordinators’ deadline for head coach requests had passed, Ossenfort had been hired.

League sources stated that, in addition to the call being illegal, the Eagles were behind the eight ball since they were unaware of the current situation with Gannon and the Cardinals. They were certain that Gannon would be back for a third season at the moment.

However, an Eagles source stated that Ossenfort did not contact Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman about requesting an interview with Gannon until Friday before the Super Bowl, or around ten days after the tampering call between Ossenfort and Gannon.

Several sources have stated that the Eagles considered Fangio as their top option to replace Gannon since he designed one of the most well-liked defensive schemes in the league. In addition to moving forward with the process of finding replacement candidates, the Eagles could have informed Fangio of the possible opening if Gannon had communicated his intention to interview with the Cardinals. In addition to being well respected within the building, Fangio had a contract with the team, having agreed to a two-week advisory role before the Super Bowl.

However, Fangio was also being chased by the Miami Dolphins. He made a tacit commitment to work as a staff member of the Dolphins in the run-up to the Super Bowl, as the Eagles’ DC position appeared to be taken. According to insiders, after learning that Arizona was recruiting Gannon, the Eagles front office attempted to persuade Fangio to resign from the Dolphins, but Fangio had already made up his mind.

On Super Bowl Sunday morning, word leaked out that Gannon would be interviewed by the Cardinals the following day. There were already rumors around the NFL by then, according to league insiders, that Gannon and the Cardinals had gained more ground than they had disclosed.

The claim that Gannon was far down the line with the Cardinals by Sunday was refuted by him last week, labeling it “100% untrue.” Gannon claimed to have made no comment when informed that the Eagles thought he wasn’t forthright.

On February 14, two days after the Super Bowl, Gannon was given the official job by Arizona. Fangio became the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator official on February 15.

Sitting to Gannon’s right at his introduction news conference, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill stated, “Throughout the process, due to where we were in the hiring process on that date that we recruited Monti, the window had sort of closed.” We filled out permission request papers for some of the coaches that were eliminated, and we didn’t want to cause them any inconvenience. That’s what we did with Jonathan as well as with the other prospects.

The Cardinals reported to the league that they had spoken with Ossenfort and Gannon on the phone in the days after the NFC Championship Game, in violation of the league’s anti-tampering policy, six minutes before the draft began on April 27.

Philadelphia’s fifth-round selection in 2024 will go to the Cardinals as a result of the teams’ agreement to trade third-round picks in the 2023 draft.

From 2018 to 2020, Sirianni and Gannon worked as assistants for the Indianapolis Colts, with Sirianni as the offensive coordinator and Gannon as the defensive backs coach.

Gannon described Sirianni as “exhaustingly competitive” shortly after Sirianni was hired as the Eagles’ head coach in 2021. He recalled the lengthy meetings they would have in Indianapolis, where they would analyze plays and debate the advantages and disadvantages of calls from defense and offense.

“Nick, this takes that away,” I would say as he came in and began sketching plays, according to Gannon. After three hours, I would say, “Dude, I gotta leave,” and it would turn into these relationships.

Once Sirianni brought Gannon on board, they proved to be a formidable combination, guiding the Eagles to a 14-3 season and a 2022 Super Bowl trip. Sirianni managed the NFL’s No. 2 defense, while Jalen Hurts, a front-runner for MVP, directed the third-ranked offense.

With the defensive decline being more pronounced, both units have underperformed this season. When it comes to third downs (12th in 2022), the Eagles’ defense is ranked 30th, their red zone defense is ranked 29th (17th in 2022), and their points allowed per game are eighth in 2022. Their current pace of 45 sacks is particularly concerning, as it falls far short of the previous season’s franchise record of 70 sacks.

Losing five starters in free agency has contributed to personnel turnover, but coaching has also had an impact. In light of this, the Eagles promoted Matt Patricia to defensive playcaller and demoted Desai ahead of their Week 15 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. During their time with the Chicago Bears, Desai studied under Fangio, and some players thought he had given them too much information. The sources claimed that it caused confusion and hindered players’ ability to play quickly.

For Fangio in Miami, things are getting better. Points allowed (20.9), third-down defense (37%), passing yards (205.7), and takeaways (23), all of which the Dolphins tied for third in the league, were their primary positions going into Week 16.

Following their separation, there was one particular area of contention between Gannon and Sirianni. The season turned around in 2021, according to Gannon, who suggested to Sirianni that he stop playcalling during a difficult start in an interview with the Athletic. That talk never happened, according to Eagles sources.

Gannon called Sirianni’s relationship “wonderful, yet they have persisted.

He has been a huge assistance to me this year in a number of ways.

Tuesday, Gannon stated. He’s always a resource for me, then.

Philadelphia players still hold Gannon in high regard.

I love you, Gannon, so much. Guard Josh Sweat remarked, “I miss him.” She is an excellent coach with lots of energy.

His ass needs to be whooped. He [come in and beat us] cannot be allowed. But after that, love is everything.

Notwithstanding his improper contact with the Cardinals, the Eagles lost out on their first-choice replacement for Gannon, but the general consensus, both in public and behind closed doors, is that their former defensive coordinator gave his best in getting ready for Super Bowl LVII.

With his statement that he was “clearly completely engaged” in the Eagles’ whole postseason run, Gannon supported that idea during his inaugural news conference.

That night, after the tampering news broke, Sirianni declared, I gave this squad everything I had for that Super Bowl.” Knowing that it was from the heart, I remained silent.