Make that two teams who are potentially interested in hiring Jonathan Gannon as their next head coach.
The Minnesota Vikings have joined the Denver Broncos in requesting an interview with the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator, according to a report from NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
Gannon has obvious ties to both of these job openings. Denver general manager George Paton overlapped with Gannon in Minnesota from 2014 through 2017. Vikings ownership obviously has familiarity with Gannon from those years as well.
Another connection to consider is that the Vikings are reportedly interviewing Eagles vice president of football operations Catherine Raîche and Eagles director of player personnel Brandon Brown for their general manager vacancy. They could put in a good word for Gannon … and vice versa.
We’ve previously downplayed the likelihood of Gannon getting hired away this offseason. It feels like he has more to prove before deserving such an opportunity. Sunday’s wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be a very interesting test of how far his defense has truly come since struggling earlier in this season. If the Eagles are able to shut down Tom Brady, well, one would think Gannon’s stock will rise. Of course, the expectation is the opposite will happen and the Eagles’ defense will struggle yet again.
Gannon’s ability to lead a good defense isn’t the only quality that his prospective employers will be evaluating. But it’s part of the equation.
As it currently stands, there’s been no indication Gannon is the favorite to land in either Denver or Minnesota. Those two teams are reportedly interviewing a number of candidates, including former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson. (And former Eagles linebacker/current 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans!) Dougie P will surely get a job before Gannon … right?
We’ll just have to wait and see.