PHILADELPHIA − You might find it hard to believe after listening to the vitriol directed towards defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon that the Eagles have the second-ranked defense in the NFL, or that they have the best pass defense in the NFL.
The same is true for offensive coordinator Shane Steichen whose offensive schemes have been called unimaginative by critics, and that Jalen Hurts is excelling because he’s a “system QB,” as Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons recently described Hurts − whatever that means.
The Eagles are third in the NFL in total offense in third in points per game.
Gannon and Steichen are obviously doing something right, as they are candidates for some of the five current head coaching openings in the NFL. Each has conducted interviews by Zoom with multiple teams over the weekend of Jan. 7-8 when the Eagles had a first-round bye.
Gannon and Steichen are not allowed to interview in person until after the Eagles are eliminated from the playoffs. But Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has little doubt that both will be head coaches somewhere next season. In fact, he’s already considering replacements.
This is why Sirianni made it a point to push back at Gannon’s critics after the Eagles dominated on both offense and defense in their 38-7 win over the Giants in an NFC Divisional Round game Saturday night.
“This guy is an unbelievable coordinator,” Sirianni said, referencing criticism Gannon received from SportsRadio94.1 WIP. “The fact that he doesn’t get respect … blows my mind.
“So, every time I hear an answer about Jonathan Gannon, I laugh to myself. As a matter of fact, coaches from other teams ask me, ‘Does Jonathan Gannon get crap here?’ I’m like, ‘Somehow, yeah.’
“He’s going to be a head football coach in the National Football League because of what he does. This guy is a stud.”
The main criticism about Gannon is that he doesn’t blitz enough, and that he has his defensive backs play more zone than man-to-man.
UNSUNG HEROES:As Jalen Hurts gets attention, these 5 under-the-radar Eagles key to NFC Championship run
PLAYOFF HUNGER:What Jalen Hurts, Lane Johnson were ‘starving’ for as Eagles feasted on, punished Giants
Teams that blitz by sending extra defenders are doing so in part because their four or five down linemen aren’t getting pressure on the quarterback. And by blitzing, those teams are leaving their defensive backs in single coverage.
The Eagles, meanwhile, had an NFL-high 70 sacks this season, only two short of the NFL record dating back to 1982 when the sack became an official stat. No other team was within 15 sacks of the Eagles. So the Eagles have been pretty effective rushing the passer without sending extra defenders.
As for zone vs. man coverage, that is designed to prevent deep balls. The Eagles have allowed only 7 pass plays of 40 or more yards this season, among the fewest in the NFL.
The Eagles aren’t the only team thriving in that situation. The San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles’ opponent on Sunday in the NFC Championship game, have the top-ranked overall defense in the NFL, led by defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
Ryans, an Eagles linebacker from 2012-15, whom former coach Chip Kelly used to call “Mufasa” for his leadership and play-making ability, also don’t blitz very often, and the 49ers don’t play much man coverage.
“So, it’s the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked defenses in the NFL, and they don’t blitz a lot, they don’t play any man,” Sirianni said sarcastically. “Just wanted to make sure I was hearing that right.”
It’s no wonder that Ryans is also getting much consideration for head coaching jobs.
That doesn’t surprise Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay, who has a long history with Ryans. Clay was the Eagles’ quality control coach on defense in 2015 when Ryans was in the last of his four seasons in Philadelphia. The two worked together on the 49ers coaching staff from 2017 until Clay was hired by the Eagles in 2021.
“From the first time I’ve ever met him, you talk about a guy who studies film and is so cerebral, that’s DeMeco,” Clay said. “He’s so smart, and you can throw any concept at him, and he’s going to get it within 2 to 3 minutes.
“Kudos to whatever organization hires him as a head coach because he’s going to get that thing turned around. He’s done an unbelievable job. You can just see the passion that he has as a coordinator.”
It’s the same way with Steichen and Gannon with the Eagles. Sure, there have been some bumps along the way, especially in their first season in 2021.
But Steichen has developed two of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL. In 2020, he was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator for quarterback Justin Herbert’s rookie year. Herbert threw for 4,336 yards as a rookie and had a passer rating of 98.3, which is still the highest of his career.
Then Steichen helped develop Jalen Hurts, who had the reputations as strictly a running quarterback, into a leading MVP candidate. Much of this happened after Sirianni turned over play-calling duties to Steichen midway through the 2021 season.
“I think as a leader, he brings a special type of passion,” Hurts said. “He speaks with conviction. He really means it. You can tell he cares. I think he’s always trying to put us in the best position to succeed.
“I think he’s been a big asset for us this year.”
And yes, the Eagles defensive players feel the same way about Gannon.
That includes Fletcher Cox, who harshly criticized Gannon after the Eagles lost 33-22 to the Raiders in Oct. 2021, dropping the Eagles’ record to 2-5. Back then, Cox bristled at Gannon’s read-and-react scheme for defensive linemen.
“I don’t get paid to play screens,” Cox said that day.
Cox and Gannon came to an understanding, and the Eagles went 7-3 the rest of that 2021 season to finish 9-8 and make the playoffs. It was the same on offense as the Eagles switched to a run-based offense.
That was a prelude to this season. On defense, Cox is playing less, but he’s playing better. Cox had 7.0 sacks this season, his most since he had 10.5 in 2018.
On offense, Hurts improved his completion percentage from 61.3% to 66.5% and his rating from 87.2 to 101.6.
Both Gannon and Steichen never wavered. They believe in their systems. And most importantly, so does Sirianni. And Gannon said he appreciates that.
“I don’t really pay attention too much,” Gannon said about Sirianni defending him. “But like I said, we’ve always had a great relationship, and he’s never once wavered behind closed doors in his confidence to me and what we’re doing, and that’s why he’s a great head coach.
“You know he has everyone on his team’s back, and that’s why we do such a good job for him because we don’t want to let him down.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
