Jonathan Gannon Will Use Lessons From Eagles to Maximize Kyler Murray
New Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon certainly has his work cut out for him.
Turning around a 4-13 team is no easy task. Throw in the potential of losing superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins via trade and 30 free agents that include Byron Murphy, Zach Allen and 4/5 starters along the offensive line, and there's potential for a completely different team in Arizona.
The cherry on top is quarterback Kyler Murray, who tore his ACL/meniscus in Week 14 and isn't expected to be ready by the 2023 season opener. Even upon his return, Murray's ability to trust his surgically repaired knee may take some time.
Yet Murray is still young, and there's hope that under new leadership, he can hit a different level many hoped Kliff Kingsbury would take him to.
Gannon is no offensive mastermind. He's not capable of dialing up crazy schemes to score points. His specialty relies on the defensive side of the ball and overall leadership.
That's what sold him to owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort, but Gannon's experience with the progression of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts could be helpful here in the desert.
"The quarterback is the closest thing you have on the field to a coach. Between Nick [Sirianni], Shane [Steichen] and Brian Johnson, Jalen [Hurts] understood that. I think they did a really good job with him, making Jalen understand the 'why' and how to play fast and efficient and problem-solving on his feet," said Gannon on NFL Network yesterday.
"We didn't script a lot of practices. Everyone has carded periods and scripted things where people know what's coming. Our head coach did not do that, and it was because of the quarterback. He says, 'Well, we don't know how people are going to play us. So you know what we're gonna do to Jalen in practice? We're gonna give him all kinds of un-scouted looks [where] he has no idea what's going on, and he's gotta be able to function."
"That's how they really improved his game, and I look forward to doing that with our guy and just my viewpoint of how you have to defend him, what people are going to try to do to defend him the right way, he'll have a very specific vision of how teams are gonna try to play him and what we can do to counterbalance that."
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