Jonathan Gannon is busy coaching an NFL team, but he still finds time to keep up with his readings.
Before the Cardinals open the regular season in Buffalo against the Bills, he finished The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene.
“It gives you an example of war and then it interprets that example and puts it in real-time for the normal person right now in 2024,” Gannon said. “How I take that is I put myself in those seats and it’s like, ‘OK, this is what they’re talking about,’ and then you try to relate it to your team and the coaches and the players and all that.
“Maybe I’m just messed up,” Gannon added with a laugh.
It’s a unique approach as the team prepares for the regular season. Whether it’s through reading books or learning from other coaches, Gannon is a student of the game.
It’s why they have an out-of-the-ordinary structure for practices. Most organizations will practice using cards, having their scout team emulate the opponent but also lending more of a scripted plan to the schedule.
But Gannon doesn’t like to use cards. The Cardinals believe practicing with cards won’t prepare them to make the most of their opportunity come game days.
“We do some different things to make sure that we are playing football throughout the week and not just carding everything,” Gannon said. “One of (the reasons) being we need to see guys that are backups or on the practice squad play football and develop.”
Gannon learned the ideology from Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, for whom Gannon served as defensive coordinator. Similar to how Gannon viewed the book, he placed the thought of how he’d operate practices as a head coach while serving under Sirianni.
The Cardinals elevate players from the practice squad to the active roster every week for a game, and some are promoted to the roster permanently. Players like defensive tackle Roy Lopez, safety Andre Chachere, and cornerback Divaad Wilson saw playing time despite starting their stints on the practice squad.
Even as the dust begins to settle this year, the Cardinals already signed linebacker Krys Barnes to the active roster after having to place rookie cornerback Elijah Jones on Injured Reserve.
Gannon said that he saw the positive impact of the decisions as the 2023 season progressed.
“(Practice squad) is not a landing spot, it’s really a trampoline,” Gannon said. “And if you’re not improving your game, and you’re going to get time to show us that you are improving your game, (but) if you’re not, we’re going to replace you. That’s just the nature of that.”
That puts the competition battle for the backup quarterback position in the spotlight. While Clayton Tune was selected to make the 53-man roster, by keeping Desmond Ridder on the practice squad, the competition remains tight.
And by not using cards during practices, Ridder, even while on the practice squad, remains in play.
“If you’re on the practice squad or the roster, you’re competing,” Gannon said.
