Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson tears into ex-Philly coach Jonathan Gannon over his Super Bowl remarks

Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson has clashed with former Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon after the Arizona Cardinals’ new head coach opened up about what went wrong defensively for his former team in the loss of the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Gannon, who was signed by the Cardinals just two days after losing Super Bowl LVII on February 12, touched base on defensive errors in last month’s 38-game loss. 35.

‘[The Chiefs] We made a lot of good plays in the second half and we couldn’t stop when we needed to,” said the 40-year-old.

“Obviously he could have done a much better job coaching a couple of things he wanted outside of the calls, so hard to swallow when you look back because it’s such a big state and we didn’t make it.”

Gannon’s comments were not lost on Gardner-Johnson, who criticized his former coach for the team’s lack of defensive preparation, especially in the second half of last month’s big game. The Eagles gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, 25, criticized former Philadelphia defensive coach Jonathan Gannon

Gardner-Johnson hinted that the team’s defense was misdirected before Super Bowl LVII

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon made his Super Bowl remarks at the NFL Combine

“You didn’t put us in a position to make plays,” Gardner-Johnson wrote on Twitter. The 25-year-old is the league’s co-leader in interceptions (6) along with the Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick; Justin Simmons of the Broncos; and Tariq Woolen of the Seahawks.

In the Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson recorded four tackles against Patrick Mahomes and company, though he was no match for the quarterback’s 13 of 15 completions for two touchdowns in the second half with the Chiefs scoring on every possession.

What’s more, Mahomes was playing through an ankle injury, which worsened just before the half. The Eagles led 24-14 at the interval in Glendale, Arizona.

Since Gannon’s departure, Philadelphia has struggled to find a replacement, though the team made official the arrival of Sean Desai as its new defensive coordinator Tuesday, hiring him outside of his role as associate head coach with the Seahawks.

Philadelphia also promoted quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator, replacing Shane Steichen after he left to become head coach of the Colts. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni praised Johnson’s work with NFL MVP finalist Jalen Hurts over the course of last season.

‘The trust was automatically there. Sometimes you have to build trust. A lot of times you have to build confidence, but that was there,’ Sirianni said. “And then with that, Brian is great, not just with Jalen, with everyone.”

‘He can adapt and just be able to connect with anyone on our roster. And that is offensively and defensively. And that’s something that I think Brian is special about.

The Eagles also named Alex Tanney as the new quarterbacks coach, Marcus Brady as senior offensive assistant and TJ Paganetti as running game specialist/tight ends assistant coach.

The Eagles have hired Sean Desai as the team’s new defensive coordinator to replace Gannon.