Jonathan Gannon could land on his feet soon. Following his ouster as Cardinals HC, the three-year leader has three interviews scheduled — one bringing an opportunity to stay on the HC tier.
The Titans are planning to meet with Gannon about their HC position Sunday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Prior to that, however, Gannon has two defensive coordinator meetings scheduled. He will meet with the Cowboys on Tuesday and Commanders on Thursday, Rapoport adds.
These NFC East gigs are rather interesting, seeing as Gannon trekked to Arizona after two seasons as the Eagles’ DC. The Cardinals position did not work out, and Gannon will consider heading back to the DC level. Having a head coaching interview set for days after the two DC meetings could throw a wrench into Gannon’s schedule, and a determination on how likely a Titans opportunity would be may need to be made with regards to potentially accepting a DC offer earlier.
Coming to Arizona after helming a top-tier Philadelphia defense, Gannon could not replicate that Eagles success with the Cardinals. The team struggled defensively this season, taking a step back from a 2024 season that appeared to feature a less talented unit. Gannon and Nick Rallis‘ defense ranked 29th in points and 27th in yardage. This came after the ’24 unit displayed improvement (15th, 21st) during an 8-9 season. Gannon’s third Arizona team tumbled to 3-14, and after some 11th-hour rumors the HC could keep his job, the team moved on while retaining Monti Ossenfort — hired along with Gannon in 2023 — as GM.
The Commanders have already made their move to replace Kliff Kingsbury, promoting David Blough to OC. That move came early, and it appeared it was partially made to keep Blough out of the Lions’ OC search. Washington has also interviewed two-year Tennessee DC Dennard Wilson for the job. Wilson coached with Gannon under Nick Sirianni in Philly from 2021-22, with a request sent to Raiders DC Patrick Graham.
The Cowboys attempted to schedule a Jeff Ulbrich interview, but the Falcons blocked it. Dallas has met with the Browns’ Ephraim Banda and Vikings’ Daronte Jones about the job. The team is looking for a leader on this side of the ball for a third straight offseason — after both Mike Zimmer and Matt Eberflus went one-and-done. The Eagles ranked 10th in scoring defense in 2021 and second in 2022, giving Gannon momentum he used to vault into the Cardinals’ HC chair.
With the Titans having two-plus months to plan their HC search, it is predictably wide-ranging. Gannon runs the count to 17 candidates who have either interviewed or received a request. This does not include John Harbaugh, whom the organization wants to interview. Gannon, 43, would be a dark-horse candidate to land a head coaching job after going 3-14. Even him having the chance to interview for one is notable, but that is on tap.