Jonathan Gannon reflects on the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss in his Cardinals introductory press conference

“I feel bad about not being able to get that done, but it was an excellent learning experience for me … and things that I would need to do differently.”

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, left, shakes hands with new coach Jonathan Gannon during a news conference on Thursday.Read moreAlberto Mariani / AP

by Kerith Gabriel

Published Feb. 16, 2023, 1:33 p.m. ET

In addition to remaining in Arizona to interview for his eventual new position as head coach of the Cardinals, Jonathan Gannon says he went back to his hotel room and reviewed Super Bowl footage that same night.

“Yeah, Sunday night I did in my hotel room,” the former Eagles defensive coordinator told reporters during his Cardinals introductory press conference on Thursday. “Which was hard because you feel for the players when you get to that game. I didn’t feel sorry for myself, I feel bad about the players and not getting [Eagles owner] Mr. [Jeffrey] Lurie another ring and [Eagles general manager] Howie [Roseman] another ring, and [head coach] Nick [Sirianni] his first ring.”

Under Gannon, the Eagles led the league in sacks (70) and sacks per attempt and had the No. 1-ranked pass defense, according to various statistical models. However, it was a defensive corps that looked the part in the early phases of Super Bowl LVII, but a second-half fizzle was a catalyst for the Eagles being unable to stop Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who returned from a second-quarter ankle sprain and ran his way to becoming Super Bowl MVP.

“I’m always trying to learn from experiences that happened right in real time and that’s what I did,” said Gannon. “I feel bad about not being able to get that done, but it was an excellent learning experience for me and I know that I learned a lot from that game and things that I would need to do differently.”