Jonathan Gannon’s return to the Eagles has been met with mixed reviews from fans and critics, but the player’s vote is really all that matters.
Whether it be Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, or now Darius Slay, Eagles’ defenders have their coaches back and the Pro Bowl cornerback may have just spoken the loudest.
Mike Kaye of NJ.com is in Los Angeles for the Super Bowl, and during a sitdown with Slay, the veteran cornerback called Gannon’s return “a blessing.”
“I always want the best for him,” Slay told NJ Advance Media. “I wish he would become a head coach, because that’s always [been] the dream too, for him. But with him being able to come back as our DC, it’s a blessing. We get another year under his coaching scheme and I’ve got a way better understanding of it. I can’t wait to see how exciting it would be for us this year.”
Slay talked about continuity, scheme, and more importantly, Gannon’s leadership ability, which has been praised by the ownership groups in Houston, Minnesota, and Denver.
“He came in with great veteran leadership that I needed help with because last year at the cornerback position, we were so young and thin because of the COVID and being sick and all of that stuff,” Slay said. “Bringing Steve in, he had been a pro for seven years, great experience, been a starter long enough, and he has that high-end [talent] to compete, so it was a great addition.”
This offseason will be about acquiring the proper personnel for Gannon’s scheme, with most critics and fans harping on the lack of pressure from the Philadelphia defense, along with a lack of blitzing on the backend.
Gannon’s first season in Philadelphia was up and down from a statistical perspective, but he was successful down the stretch, and if you take out some disasters against elite quarterbacks, the Eagles defense was among the top-15 in the league.