The Cardinals paused their ongoing head coach search during Super Bowl weekend, but appear to have a list of finalists in place for the position. One of those is Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who is now free to meet with prospective employers with the Super Bowl in the books. 
It was reported yesterday morning that the Cardinals were expected to request an interview with the 39-year-old. A follow-up later in the day seemed to point to Gannon not only being a candidate for the posting, but the one in the driver’s seat to be hired. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Gannon is expected to interview today.
The Cardinals had their search pared down to three candidates recently: Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Steelers linebackers coach Brian Flores. The latter took the Vikings’ DC position last week, thus taking himself out of the running to become the new coach in the desert. That left many presuming the other two would be the only remaining contenders, but Gannon’s presence has changed the situation.
Schefter’s colleague Josh Weinfuss reports that the Cardinals have “focused” their resumed search on Anarumo and Gannon (Twitter link). While he emphasizes that Kafka should be considered out of the running altogether, that update underscores how highly-regarded Gannon is by an Arizona front office which is now led by general manager Monti Ossenfort alongside owner Michael Bidwill.
Gannon only has two years of coordinator experience, but his success in 2022 in particular makes him a logical candidate for a HC position. The Eagles were dominant in a number of categories as both their front seven and secondary helped guide the team to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a trip to the Super Bowl. The performance of Gannon’s unit in the second half of the title game in particular was far from stellar, but he is still likely to be on the head coaching radar in the years to come should he not land the Cardinals position.
Weinfuss adds that a final decision on Arizona’s next head coach could come as soon as tonight, so much will depend on Gannon’s interview. None of the three finalists are considered candidates for the Colts’ vacancy, so the runners-up will be in position to remain in their current roles for the 2023 season.
Had to put a pause on Gannon cuz he disappeared last night
They had to bring in Grampa Vic to help him and they STILL couldn’t get a stop when they needed it. Sounds like the perfect choice to be the Cardinals HC.
Poor Eric Bieniemy. I can’t believe he’s still not considered for HC. Andy made a point to mention him by name right after the Super Bowl
Yea…I picked up on Andy’s referral during post-game chaos as well …prob best however for Eric to lay low so the cards don’t come calling
Gannon was totally out coached in the second half.