Eagles Reportedly Have Their New DC

The biggest test for all new coaches is hiring a good staff. Nick Sirianni has already made some choices about who will stay and who will go. There is a report out tonight that he has chosen his defensive coordinator.

Colts secondary coach Jonathan Gannon has emerged as the clear favorite for the Eagles defensive coordinator job, and it looks like he'll take it. Philly's working through the final stages of the interview process.

Gannon would be a big get. Had multiple coordinator offers.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 23, 2021

Gannon makes a lot of sense. His background is with defensive backs and the secondary, a weak spot for the Eagles going back a long time. He has also primarily coached in the 4-3 defense.

Gannon spent four seasons coaching with the Vikings. His final season there was 2017, when they finished with the No. 1 defense in the league and made it all the way to the NFC title game (don’t remember what happened that night). For the last three years, Gannon coached the Colts secondary. They were Top 10 in points allowed in two of the three seasons. That’s a good track record.

The Eagles weren’t the only team interested in Gannon. The Bears, Raiders and Chargers all talked to Gannon or wanted to interview him. The NFL is a passing league. If you can slow down opposing QBs/WRs, teams will have interest in you.

There is a risk with a young head coach hiring a young defensive coordinator. Most first time coaches like to hire a veteran to run the unit that isn’t their specialty. Andy Reid hired Jim Johnson. Doug Pederson hired Jim Schwartz (with a big push from the Eagles). I would assume Gannon would have a veteran coach on his staff to lean on when he needs advice.

This move does show that the team is letting Sirianni choose his staff. Pederson needed help as he put his staff together. There is a huge difference in the situations. Pederson had coached in Philly and then went to KC with Reid. He wasn’t exposed to a lot of different people. Sirianni coached for the Chiefs, Chargers and Colts over the course of 12 seasons. He worked for four head coaches and was exposed to different systems and staffs. He’s got a much larger pool of candidates to draw from.

The #Eagles are interviewing Washington Football Team defensive backs coach Chris Harris for their vacant DC job, source said. A fast-rising coach, Harris also played 8 years in the NFL.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 23, 2021

It would seem the Eagles checked out Chris Harris as well. Harris is a former player (Bears, Panthers) who spent time with Sirianni on the Chargers staff. This would have been another young coach with a DB background.

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The Sirianni hire isn’t official for some odd reason. That should happen in the next day or two.

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Falcons announce Justin Peelle as their new TE coach. As the Eagles go about building their new staff, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp has also been granted permission to explore other options.

— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) January 23, 2021

Peelle did a good job, but Sirianni obviously wants his own guys.

Fipp needed to go. He was terrific for his first five years, but STs have been on the decline. I do think a mediocre roster is part of the problem, but he wasn’t getting the most out of his units. A change of scenery should do him good.

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If you want to know more about Sirianni, go read this excellent piece by Mike Kaye to get a better feel for his background.

Nick Sirianni is no pushover.

The Jamestown, NY native got to where he is because of his relentlessness.

Here's the story of how he came out of nowhere to become the #Eagles' next head coach:https://t.co/g1qNPa8U2Z

— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) January 23, 2021

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