Eagles HC Nick Sirianni hopes Sunday is 'uncomfortable' for one member of Cardinals
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni explained Wednesday that while he still has "love" for his former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, he wants his return to the City of Brotherly Love in Week 17 to be "uncomfortable."
Gannon spent 2021 and 2022 as Philadelphia's defensive coordinator before joining the Arizona Cardinals as their head coach in mid-February. Gannon was hired by Arizona two days after the Eagles fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, 38-35.
The 40-year-old faced heavy criticism and blame in the aftermath of the Super Bowl loss, a game where the Eagles led the Chiefs 24-14 at halftime. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a comeback after intermission, however. K.C. had three touchdown drives plus the game-winning field goal in the third and fourth quarters alone.
The Chiefs offense registered 158 rushing yards, and Gannon's defense forced no turnovers and had no sacks — after leading the NFL in sacks by a wide margin in the regular season.
In the beginning of March, former Philadelphia safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (now on the Detroit Lions) slammed Gannon in a deleted message on social media, blaming him for the loss. Gardner-Johnson quote-tweeted a reporter's post where Gannon talked about "what went wrong in the 2nd half in the Super Bowl" and wrote, "You ain't put us in position to make plays."
During an interview in front of Cardinals fans in April, the first-year lead man blasted the Philadelphia media, alleging that during a news conference last season they wanted him fired for not blitzing enough. In September, Gannon said, "I regret that" and that the comments were a "mistake."
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