Is Jonathan Gannon related to Rich Gannon? New Cardinals HC's relation to former NFL QB explained

Jonathan Gannon is being hired as the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The 40-year-old served as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in the last two seasons.

While the Philadelphia Eagles did lose Super Bowl LVII just two days ago, the team's success on both sides of the ball led to other NFL teams top interviewing their coordinators. Gannon has been considered an up-and-coming coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the last few years.

Although the last name rings a bell to that of former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon, there is surprisingly no relationship between the two. Although both have a connection to the NFL, there is no relation in their respective family trees.

Rich Gannon played 18 seasons in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, Washington and the Kansas City Chiefs before ending his career with the Oakland Raiders. He was hired by CBS as an analyst from 2005 until 2021 on a full-time basis and now does occasional work for the network as well.

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How long has Jonathan Gannon been a coach in the NFL?

Jonathan Gannon will become the newest first-time head coach in the NFL as he begins his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals. Before being hired by Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles, Gannon was the defensive backs and cornerbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 until 2020.

Gannon began his NFL coaching career in 2007 as the defensive quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009 and 2010 he worked for the St. Louis Rams as a college scout and then a pro scout. After a year off from coaching, he was hired by the Tennessee Titans in 2012 as the defensive quality control coach.

In 2014 he was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as the assistant defensive backs and defensive quality control coach, a position he held for four seasons.

This past season with the Eagles, the defense tied for second-best in total defense in the entire league.

Just ahead of Super Bowl LVII, Gannon said that although he was interviewing for various positions around the league, he plans to stay with Philadelphia. However, he has apparently now changed his mind and decided to pursue the head coaching position with the young Arizona Cardinals team.