Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon giving corners freedom of expression

Jonathan Gannon isn’t just the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Turns out, he’s also an art teacher. At least when it comes to coaching up his very young group of cornerbacks.

Since the day he was hired as Kliff Kingsbury’s replacement, Gannon has spoken regularly about letting his cornerbacks, in theory, paint their own works of art on the football field. He’ll provide them with an empty canvas and let them choose any different kind of colors and brushes they want. The only rule is their body of work must stay within the confines of the canvas itself.

It's a freedom of expression principle that is allowing every cornerback to be himself. A former defensive back whose coaching history has predominantly been spent teaching that portion of the defense, Gannon recognizes that each of his defenders is different and has their own unique set of skills.

Why force them to all play the same way when they’re built and designed differently?

“It’s always good to have coaches who help you show off your skills and it’s not always pencil and paper,” said third-year pro Marco Wilson, who is projected to step into the No. 1 cornerback role following the departure of Byron Murphy Jr. via free agency. “I’ve been around some coaches like that and it’s not really fun. So, it’s good to now your players and that they respect us as men, and they know where our strengths are, and they know our weaknesses. I respect that.”

The canvas concept, Wilson said, is a real thing, adding Gannon lets his corners play to their strengths and not one rigid technique.

“Yeah, he does, he does, and I see that,” Wilson said. “Honestly, he doesn’t make you be a robot. Being a robot on the field is not good because sometimes there’s loopholes that get you beat playing like that. I appreciate that out of my coaches, especially him.”

Gannon recently broke down in detail what exactly his philosophy is regarding the “cornerback canvas.” Part of it, he said, is reminding them the preferred technique the Cardinals want to play within for a certain call. It involves knowing where the help is coming and what’s the player’s primary responsibility.

Gannon may inject what type of style he may prefer or how he’s seen it done and what he thinks works best “and that’s A,” he said. “You can use B or C if you want and you feel more comfortable with that, as long as ‘this’ gets done. So that’s what I mean by that because everyone’s a little bit different.

“Not every corner aligns the same way, or his footwork is the same way or he presses the same way or what he’s comfortable with. So, we have a standard operation procedure of how we want to do things but there’s flexibility that we allow those guys to have to really give them the biggest advantage and play to their strengths for that down. That’s on an individual basis, but what I really mean by that is you can paint; you’ve just got to stay in the lines.”

What happens when a player paints outside of the lines? If a cornerback wants to play press, man-to-man coverage, meaning he lines right up on a receiver, he’ll have to adjust and play off if that’s what the call requires. There is room for compromise, but usually only if the right protection is there elsewhere in case of a breakdown.

“Yeah, I might get a guy who says, ‘Well, JG, I’m a better cover corner when I press,’” Gannon explained. “Yeah, but because of how you fit into all 10 (other players), you have to play this call off. Now, another call, you might go up and you say, ‘Hey, I want you to play off on this.’ Then it’s, ‘JG, can I press this?’ ‘Yes, you can press this call because it doesn’t take away from the other 10. You go handle your business how you want to.’

“So, it’s a real cool and fun thing for me to figure that out with the guys, like, ‘Are you a better press? You say you’re a better press corner, but do you play off a little better?’ You know what I mean? I’ve been around a lot of different DBs and not one size fits all. Just because I like a certain technique doesn’t mean that’s the best technique for that guy. Or the flavor I like, it might not be that flavor, it might be another flavor and that’s OK as long as they’re fitting into the defense and what needs to get done.”

Presently, there are 10 cornerbacks on the roster fighting for four to five jobs. Wilson, who has made 13 starts each of his first two seasons, leads the group and will be heavily counted upon by new defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.

“I’ve talked to Marco, specifically, and told him like, ‘You have all the ability to be a No. 1 corner in this league and that’s what I expect, but I’m going to hold you accountable each and every day,” Rallis said. “Coach Smitty (cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith) is going to do the same thing. JG is going to do the same thing. You know JG’s background is coaching those DBs.’

“And he’s responded great to it. It’s a young group with a lot of talent and a high ceiling. I like the way they show up and work in meetings. There’s a lot of detail to that position. Those guys are technicians out there. You have to be obsessed with that spot and your craft. And I’m pleased with where those guys can go. We’ve got to keep working, we’ve got to improve still, but I’m excited about it.”

The competition for the No. 2 cornerback role remains fluid, as is the case for the top slot corner job. Second-year pro Christian Matthew has been getting a lot of reps at No. 2 corner with the first-team defense, but so has rookie Kei’Trel Clark, a sixth-round pick out of Louisville.

Veterans Antonio Hamilton, Rashad Fenton, Kris Boyd and Mate Hairston are deep in the mix and once rookie corner Garrett Williams (knee) is activated off the non-football Injury list, he’ll get his chance to make an impact where he can.

Nearly two weeks into training camp, how close are the Cardinals to naming the No. 2 corner?

“Not close,” Rallis said definitively. “It’s good competition right now. We’ve got a lot of camp to go and I’ve got to see who’s going to emerge to play certain roles and in the secondary, specifically that corner, but throughout the whole defense.”

Hamilton, 30, likes the diversity and versatility of the cornerback room.

“We have a really young, great group of guys,” he said. “It’s sprinkled in with a few guys who have played a handful of years. With me being the oldest and having different experiences, we all have different things that we can add and contribute to the group, so it’s really good. It’s really helpful because each one of us plays different styles and each one of us use primarily different types of techniques.

“It’s good to see one another do different things so we can piggyback off each other.”

Thanks to Gannon’s “cornerback canvas,” they’re each allowed to paint their own signature portraits and express their unique skill sets. It’s the real thing and not just coach-speaks, said Hamilton.

“Yeah, of for sure,” he said. “He’s giving us the opportunity to be ourselves and express ourselves and play the way we like to play as long as It’s within the scheme of the game. So, it’s given us a lot of control to be able to sit and see and sit on a lot of different routes and stuff, which is a very cool thing.

“Along with Nick and what he’s doing with the play calls, it’s given us a lot of flexibility to play a more robber type of football, so it’s really good for us. Everybody has their own mix on how they choose to operate. Some people want you to do certain things a certain way. But that doesn’t mean you can’t put your own flavor onto it.”