New Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon once again gave a public vote of confidence to polarizing quarterback Kyler Murray.
“If Kyler Murray isn’t here, I don’t take this job,” Gannon told NBC Sports’ Peter King about leaving his post as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles to join Arizona.
Murray required ACL surgery that included some meniscus repair in early January, and he’s faced some criticism in the past year after a difficult season in Arizona.
Last month that an unnamed Cardinals veteran told NFL insider Michael Silver the club “created a monster” by signing Murray to a five-year contract extension last summer worth $230.5 million with $160M guaranteed. Another story said that some candidates, such as new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, didn’t want their employment attached to Murray and his deal.
Murray is a two-time Pro Bowl selection but also coming off a serious knee injury he suffered on Dec. 12 during uninspiring campaign. Per ESPN stats, he finished the regular season 19th among eligible players with a 51.5 total QBR and dead last with an average of 6.1 yards per pass attempt. In fewer than 11 games, he tossed 14 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and he added three rushing scores.
Gannon insisted last week that “everything we do (offensively) will be structured around the quarterback position to maximize his skill set.”
He offered specifics about his plan while speaking with King.
“We’re not gonna put him in gun all the time, I’ll tell you that,” Gannon explained. “We’ll have two significant offenses with his skill set: one being under center and one being in the gun. Then obviously we’re gonna do what’s comfortable with him. The way to take pressure off the quarterback and the O-line is to put him under center at times. That’s the missing piece I thought they had with Kyler. They were in gun all the time. When you’re in gun all the time, you don’t make the defense defend certain play types.”
One thing Gannon can’t control is when he’ll have Murray available to face live defenses. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Jeremy Bergman) reported on Jan. 29 that “Murray could miss half of next season” while recovering from his procedure, and such a timeline could prevent Gannon from forming a useful opinion about his team’s quarterback situation before next winter.
