Cardinals' Jonathan Gannon Calls Kyler Murray 'Elite' QB, Wants to Maximize Skillset

Johnathan Gannon will have a leg up on most of the head coaches hired this cycle as he already has his team's franchise quarterback in the building in Kyler Murray.

Gannon, 40, served as the defensive coordinator for the Eagles over the last few seasons and was very complimentary of Murray during his introductory press conference on Thursday.

"That's step one, we're starting to look at some different candidates [for OC] and looking at interviewing some different people in the next 48 hours," Gannon said (via Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons). "But I have a very specific vision of how I want to play on offense. And the person that comes in here to run the offense is going to understand that everything we do will be structured around the quarterback position to maximize his skillset—and we have an elite one."

During the 2022 season, Murray was far from the level that the league has come to expect from the first-overall pick in the 2019 draft. In 11 games, he finished 3-8, passing for 2,368 yards and rushing for 418 more for a total of 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Murray was the offensive rookie of the year in 2019 and has made two Pro Bowls over his four seasons in the league. He has completed 67 percent of his passes for 13,848 yards with 84 touchdowns and 41 interceptions over 57 starts. He's also rushed for 2,204 yards with 23 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

Gannon will need the 25-year-old back at his best in order to get his Cardinals tenure off on the right note. Although he's previously been a defensive coach, he is taking over an uber-talented offense that also boasts stars like DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and Marquise Brown in addition to Murray.