jonathan gannon

Cardinals, Eagles settle tampering investigation over coach with draft pick exchange

The Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles have come to unique terms of an agreement regarding a tampering situation duirng a coaching search. It involved new Cardinals head coach, and former Eagles defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the news Thursday.

A joint statement from the teams was released on Thursday regarding the situation. Arizona self-reported a violation to the NFL. General manager Monti Ossenfort contacted Gannon — then the defensive coordinator with the Eagles — during a non-contact period.

But the two teams reached an agreement. Philadelphia traded the No. 94 pick and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Cardinals. In exchange, the Eagles received the No. 66 selection in this year’s draft.

“The Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles have agreed on the settlement of an issue concerning an instance of impermissible contact by Arizona during its head coaching search this past January,” the statement said.

“The Cardinals self-reported to the National Football League that General Manager Monti Ossenfort had a phone conversation with then-Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the days following the NFC Championship Game, a period during which contact is not permitted under the League’s Anti-Tampering Policy.”

Rather than drag out the situation, why not trade some picks? Sounds good, right?

Cardinals hire Jonathan Gannon as first-time head coach

After helping lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl, the Cardinals showed some serious interest in Gannon to be the next head coach. His new gig in Arizona will be his first in that position.

Gannon brings a lot of NFL experience to Arizona. He got his start as a defensive quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, then worked with the St. Louis Rams as a college scout and pro scout.

He then moved on to another quality control role with the Tennessee Titans (2012-13), before landing a job as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Minnesota Vikings (2014-17). After four seasons in the Twin Cities, he was named the defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts in 2018.

Gannon spent the past two seasons working as the defensive coordinator for the Eagles.

There’s no question that this will be an incredible challenge for Gannon. The Cardinals struggled during the 2022 season posting a 4-13 record.

But if Arizona was willing to risk a tampering violation in the NFL, it must have a lot of faith that Gannon is the right guy for the job.