The Philadelphia Eagles are a bit of a mess right now with a first-year coaching staff.
Nick Sirianni is 2-5 in his debut season with the Eagles and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is now taking criticism from his own players.
Veteran Fletcher Cox recently called out Gannon, not by name, over the fact the defense is playing soft and not as aggressive as in the past.
Gannon responded by noting the criticisms are valid.
“He’s got good points,” Gannon said, as shared on NFL.com. “I need to do a better job of that with him. The key thing with that is together, player and coach, coach and player, how we do that and how we go about that. He’s had some very good ideas, as our other players have had good ideas, and then it’s up to us as the coaches to get that done and execute those things.”
This is somewhat of a non-answer, but at least Gannon did not lash out against Cox.
Jonathan Gannon was a hot name this past offseason and I have yet to see why so far.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) October 24, 2021
Inherent Problems On Defense
Cox mentioned how he is dropping back and defending instead of always rushing the quarterback.
The philosophy in place seems to be that Gannon wants to let defenses get yards, but his unit will step up and keep offenses out of the end zone.
Those quotes from Eagles defensive players yesterday are a flashing red light. Jonathan Gannon doesn’t talk today but Nick Sirianni does. He needs to address players’ lack of confidence in/enthusiasm for what they are being asked to do.
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) October 25, 2021
Yet the defense is allowing over 26 points per game, so the philosophy is not being put into action.
Gannon acknowledged that as well with a telling quote.
“It’s hard to play winning football when the ball doesn’t hit the ground,” Gannon said.
The coordinator is 38 years old and this is his first season in such a role.
Growing pains are to be expected, but that doesn’t mean a veteran like Cox shouldn’t be frustrated if he sees the plan in place not working at all.
It is now up to Gannon to make some changes and take the criticism to heart.
Because if he gets stubborn, he could be out of a job soon as a fall guy for the struggles of the team as a whole.
NEXT: Fletcher Cox Gives Blunt Assessment Of Eagles Defensive Coordinator