Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe Houston Texans are reportedly setto hold a second interview with Philadelphia Eagles defensivecoordinator Jonathan Gannon on Saturday about their head coachingvacancy.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Networkreported Gannon becomes the second person to speak with the Texanstwice. He joins former quarterback Josh McCown, who John McClain ofthe Houston Chronicle described as the "favorite," with apotential announcement next week.
Houston decided to fire head coachDavid Culley after just one season following a 4-13 campaign.
The quick hook raised questions aboutwhether the Texans would have a difficult time drumming up interestin the position, especially since the roster Culley was asked to leaddidn't have enough high-end talent to seriously contend in 2021.
McCown previously interviewed for theHouston job last year before the front office settled on Culley. Hespent his final season as a player with the Texans in 2020.
The 42-year-old Texas native has nocoaching experience, but he spent 19 years as a player and said inNovember 2020 he "definitely" wanted to coach in the future:
"If you'd asked me that 10 years ago,I would've said no way, that's not what I want to do at this level.My dream coming out of college had I not been able to play in the NFLwas to coach high school football here in Texas. The longer I've beenin this game and been around these guys, I see real value in beingable to be a part of an organization and compete at the highestlevel."
Meanwhile, Gannon has nearly twodecades of experience on the sideline dating back to 2003, when hestarted working at his alma mater, the University of Louisville.
The 2021 season marked his first in acoordinator role. He guided the Eagles defense to a 10th-placefinish in yards allowed, a sizable improvement from 2020 when theyranked 19th.
Philly head coach Nick Sirianni gaveGannon a vote of confidence when this year's coaching carousel beganto spin earlier this month.
"I think he'd be a great headfootball coach in the NFL," Sirianni told reporters. "I justthink he has all the intangibles, all the qualities that I think youneed to be a good head football coach. Jonathan has those things."
It's unclear whether the Texans plan onbringing any other coaches back in during their second round ofinterviews.
Regardless of who's selected, generalmanager Nick Caserio has a lot of work to do in the months ahead toget the roster to a point where playoff contention is possible in2022.
