The Arizona Cardinals made history with their tampering case involving new Head Coach Jonathan Gannon
When the news was dropped minutes before the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, it was surprising. The NFL, as Mike Florio pointed out (more on Florio later), is inconsistent with these cases. So how did the NFL keep it so low-key for so long, and why did the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles get to “make up” in a way that we may not know the difference for years to come?
Despite Florio’s recent condemnation of the Cardinals’ brass heading to Kyler Murray’s statue unveiling in Norman, Oklahoma just days before the draft, Florio is back to his normal sharp-wit analysis here. Florio dives into multiple points during the 20-minute clip with Chris Simms, including the following:
- Gannon should’ve never taken the call from Monti Ossenfort after winning the NFC Championship (Gannon should have waited until post-Super Bowl to do so)
- Arizona got lucky with their tampering “punishment”, as opposed to others (Unlike the 2022 Miami Dolphins)
- The NFL hid this from the public until draft night, otherwise, a lot would be exposed and the league would have to do a lot to explain themselves.
Talk about some hefty claims here, but if you’ve followed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s tenure over the past 10-13 years, you know that things don’t always get handled the same way (pick your own example). But did the Arizona Cardinals and Ossenfort really need to rush this? It’s not like Gannon was anyone else’s top pick at the time, and the further the Eagles got in the playoffs, the more their weaknesses started to show.
If there’s anything I don’t blame Gannon for it’s the desire in the fact to take that phone call- it’s human nature, and to become an NFL head coach is an extremely rare opportunity. Alas, so is a Super Bowl championship. What’s even more ironic is that Florio also pointed out Gannon’s mindset during the weeks before the big game. Florio questioned Gannon’s ability to stay focused late in the game, especially when the Chiefs scored their last two touchdowns on. Florio and Simms pointed out that one play was used against the Cardinals in Week 1 (the Skyy Moore receiving touchdown), and the latter was a play that involved motion.
Motion was what the Eagles struggled with all year, and with the biggest game of your life hanging in the balance, Gannon didn’t adjust. So what would’ve happened if Gannon ignored the call, kept his head down, and studied more? Would Gannon still be in Philadelphia with a ring, or would he have pulled a Sean McVay-Super Bowl LIII and admitted he studied too much?
Secondly, the Arizona Cardinals got incredibly lucky that all they had to do was drop 30 picks in the third round with the Eagles. It could have been so much worse, which is maybe what accelerated the team moving back and picking up an extra first-rounder from the Houston Texans in next year’s draft. Many Arizona Cardinals fans clamored for Will Anderson, but this may be a secondary explanation. As for the NFL and what it potentially had to lose- we may never know.
However, I have one specific question as a result- should Arizona Cardinals fans be worried that Gannon can easily be distracted? It makes you wonder if Gannon could endure the amount of outside noise and drama that Kliff Kingsbury went through in his final season with the team. This isn’t a personal attack on Gannon, as he is a first-time head coach in his first-ever season. But the lack of preparation for such a big game has me concerned about the head coach. It’s ironic that this team and fanbase went with issues from its quarterback’s studying habits to wondering if their head coach has the same issue.
Ossenfort isn’t necessarily off the hook either as it takes two to tango, but his draft strategy was by far the best in years for the franchise; so there’s less grey area surrounding him. The Cardinals got so lucky with their tampering case that it cannot be overstated. Imagine no Paris Johnson Jr. for Murray on the line this year- how would that have gone over behind closed doors?
This is something to revisit at the end of Year 3 for Gannon. Let the cards fall where they may.
