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Cardinals hire Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon as their new head coach

From an offensive mind to a defensive one.

NFL: JAN 29 NFC Championship - 49ers at Eagles Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Arizona Cardinals have a new head coach. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cardinals are finalizing a deal with former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who has a close to Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort.

The positive spin for Gannon is that he’s pro-analytics and is a great communicator. Learning from Nick Sirianni on how to run a team won’t hurt, as the Eagles took on the persona of their coach.

The results for the Eagles defense this past season were not great whenever they played a remotely competent offense. And Gannon won’t have Philadelphia’s defensive line with him in the desert.

This will be a hire that will either look genius or foolish in three years, given Gannon’s lack of experience and the fact so many media members point to him being buddy buddy with the new general manager or citing his education or other factors that have nothing to do with coaching. I have my doubts. This feels like a Matt Patricia type of hire, which is a good thing for the 49ers.

Arizona hired their preferred candidate, though. It’ll be on Gannon to continue to fill out the coaching staff. What do you make of the hire?