Comfort is the Key for Jonathan Gannon

PHILADELPHIA - Jonathan Gannon craves feedback, maybe not from those who want him to blitz on 90% of the defensive snaps but from the players he's asking to perform on game days.

The Eagles’ second-year defensive coordinator believes there is more than one way to do things when it comes to technique and if one of his players feels comfortable accomplishing the stated goal in a certain fashion, the fast-rising assistant is all for it.

That’s one of the things that drew Gannon to undrafted rookie cornerback Josh Jobe, who beat the odds to make the Eagles’ initial 53-man roster earlier this week.

The DC noted that young players often want to tell coaches what they believe the mentors want to hear. Gannon prefers honesty and wants to work with what his players feel comfortable doing.

Speaking their minds is much easier for entrenched veteran players like Fletcher Cox, who self-admittedly made a mistake by going public with his preferences last season and the frustrations of being a heavy three-technique player under Jim Schwartz to a more multiple one under Gannon.

Cox, who was also entering a new phase behind the scenes from a contract standpoint, has since smoothed things over with Gannon, who has worked in the player’s comfort factor and tailored them to the DC's own schematic goals.

The relationship has been repaired to the point that Cox is happy again and embracing his role as a leader so much so that he was voted as one of three defensive captains by his teammates.

Haason Reddick arrived in Philadelphia with a big contract and a history of being used both well and incorrectly during his first five professional seasons.

Considering Gannon’s self-stated doctrine and Reddick’s past, SI Eagles Today asked the star pass rusher how often the DC checks in with him.

“Every day,” Reddick said. “If we’re putting something new in, if it’s something for me, he wants to see how comfortable I am with it. He asks me everything. It’s a wonderful thing. I always give my input, tell him whether I like it or not, and then he takes that information and does as he pleases.”

That hasn’t always been the case for Reddick.

“Sometimes," the veteran said when asked if that kind of input has been typical in other situations.

Reddick is very close to his former Temple coach Matt Rhule, who had him in Carolina last season and the veteran noted that Arizona DC Vance Joseph allowed his input in 2020 but noted some of that had to do with a Chandler Jones injury.

"I want to say the last two years, but not earlier in my career being a young guy, especially playing inside linebacker and not playing a lot of ball," Reddick said when discussing how feedback was chased.

One of Gannon's mentors, former Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer, had the opposite philosophy, expecting players to figure out how to get it done with the stated instructions.

The fact that Gannon has evolved from that and embraced his own beliefs is a positive sign and one of the reasons the 39-year-old got head-coaching interviews from three different organizations this past offseason.

Reddick, though, is regarded as a star and some may want to believe that part of the sentiment in chasing his opinion is deference to his status in the league. The fact that Jobe is getting the same treatment, though, is a clear indication that player input is part of Gannon's DNA as a coach.

"These guys, all the coaches, since I’ve been here," he said, "there’s only one goal they have and that’s making sure their players are comfortable."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen