Nick Sirianni Doubles Down in Defense of Jonathan Gannon
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PHILADELPHIA - Nick Sirianni came armed with 16 different statistical categories to defend his defensive coordinator on Monday morning.
The head coach’s highly-anticipated, contractually-obligated weekly radio spot on WIP, the Eagles’ flagship radio station, took on added significance after the dominating 38-7 divisional-round playoff win over the New York Giants.
Sirianni carved out part of his post-game press conference to address some of the unfair and often uneducated criticism of his DC Jonathan Gannon, the architect of the NFL’s second-ranked defense.
“Coaches from other teams ask me, does Jonathan Gannon get crap here? I'm like, ‘somehow, yeah,’” Sirianni said after his defense allowed just 227 yards, 13 first downs, and seven points against the overmatched Giants. “Like, this guy is incredible.”
Sirianni then specifically called out retiring WIP morning host Angelo Caltaldi for his misunderstanding of the modern NFL and what Gannon has been tasked with accomplishing.
“He's going to be a head football coach in the National Football League because of what he does,” Sirianni said of Gannon. “This guy is a stud. He's a stud. I can't wait to talk to Angelo on Monday.”
Monday came and Sirianni came prepared, citing a litany of statistics to support the job Gannon has done.
"First in sacks. This is in the NFL ranking. First in pressure rate. First in yards per play. First in passing defense,” Sirianni began. “First in yards per pass attempt. First in tackles for loss. First in opponent negative plays. Second in total defense.
"Third in games allowing 17 or fewer points. Third in opponent passer rating. Third in quarterback hits. Fourth in takeaways. Fourth in interceptions. Seventh in explosive plays allowed. Seventh in force fumbles. Eighth in defensive points allowed per game.”
The coach also noted how much of the criticism Gannon receives is offered without understanding what the head coach wants.
“When you're kind of getting on Gannon about the completions or something like that, I want you to get on me, it’s what I want you to do, too,” Sirianni told Cataldi. “My whole thing that I preach here is about winning the double positive. And what does that mean? Winning the turnover battle while also winning the explosive play battle.
“...That's been our organizational philosophy for these past few years, is winning that. And so Gannon is influenced by me. So I want some heat, I want some smoke when you guys are getting on Gannon, too."
Gannon is believed to be a finalist for the head-coaching job in Houston for a second straight year, and Sirianni again doubled down on his defensive chief eventually becoming a head coach.
"He does deserve it, I will say that. I don't want him to go, but he does deserve it,” Sirianni said.
The Eagles and Gannon’s No. 2 defense will host the NFC Championship Game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who have the No. 1 defense in the NFL authored by former Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who is also a candidate for the Texans job.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
