Getty Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon is a model for the career transformation Sam Darnold could undergo this season and spelled out the exact formula needed for Darnold to take the NFL by surprise this season.
A fourth-round pick by the Vikings in 1987, Gannon was a middling starting throughout his career before becoming a perennial Pro Bowler, winning league MVP and making a Super Bowl appearance in 2002.
Gannon reflected on his first season with the Kansas City Chiefs, sharing a hard lesson he needed to change the course of his career — one Gannon has urged Darnold’s coaches to offer him.
“That was my comment to [former Carolina Panthers coach] Matt Rhule, I said, ‘if he doesn’t understand and can’t figure out the importance of ball security then he’s never going to survive in this league,’” Gannon told Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller in a June 24 article. “I don’t care who he’s playing with, who the play caller is, any of that.”
Ex-Vikings QB Rich Gannon Shares Hard Lesson Sam Darnold Will Have to Embrace
GettyFormer Raiders QB Rich Gannon.
Throughout his tenure in Minnesota, Gannon was a boom-or-bust player, throwing 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in three seasons as a starter.
When he arrived in Kansas City, he was given a stern warning that his play had to change. He had to protect the ball first and make plays second.
“I go 7-for-8, great decisions, great footwork, great anticipation, great timing and it’s completion, completion, completion. I throw one route to a tight end on a basic route and it hits him right in the hands and it goes up in the air and it’s picked up by the safety,” Gannon told Coller
“It couldn’t have gone any better with the exception of the tipped ball interception. I walk to the sideline and [Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer] comes up to me. I’m thinking he’s going to say, ‘dude that’s awesome, you were throwing the s*** out of the ball.’ He comes up to me with a stern, straight face, not even bulls******* voice. He says: ‘If you turn the ball over, you won’t play here in Kansas City.’ He didn’t say you won’t start, he said you won’t play. ‘We don’t do that, we don’t tolerate that.’ In my mind, I was like, are you fricking kidding me? But he didn’t give a s*** whose fault it was.”
Schottenheimer’s Chiefs were prolific when it came to protecting the football, Coller wrote. From 1990 to 1997 Marty’s Chiefs never ranked outside the top 10 in giveaways and ranked in the top 2 in the NFL six times. They made the playoffs in seven of those eight seasons.
Gannon went 11-8 in Kansas City with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his four years as part of a rotating cast of starting quarterbacks. He slashed his interception rate in half, from 3.6% to 1.7% from Minnesota to Kansas City and his sack rate improved from 7.5% to 6.4% under Schottenheimer.
Gannon got his chance to be the Oakland Raiders‘ No. 1 quarterback, where he ultimately transformed his career in an offense that capitalized on short, accurate throws to playmakers. A 45-29 record, four straight Pro Bowls, an MVP, a Super Bowl appearance and a reputation as a guy who persevered for 11 seasons before becoming an elite quarterback.
Rich Gannon Believes in Sam Darnold
GettySam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
As it took Gannon 11 years of scraping by in the NFL before becoming a franchise-type quarterback, he sees the potential for Darnold to do the same.
“My overall assessment of Sam Darnold is that he’s an extremely talented player. He’s very athletic, he’s got good feet, he’s got a big-time arm, he can make all the throws,” Gannon said. “He’s a young guy. He’s 26 years old. It’s stupid that he’s been in the league six years and he’s 26 years old.”
Gannon said he spoke with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell about Darnold’s potential, which showed throughout spring workouts where beat reporters were impressed with Darnold’s throwing ability.
Darnold’s next step will be to understand the game situation, protections and exploits in the defense — a process that the best offense he’s had in his career and a quarterback-friendly coach in O’Connell should help along the way.
“If I get that opportunity and we start the season and we get off to a good start then I ain’t coming out, that’s my mindset,” Gannon said. “They don’t have to play JJ if we’re 7-2 then this is going to be my opportunity. If you’re Sam that’s all you want. An opportunity to show people that I’m a different player and I’ve matured and developed into a quarterback who can be trusted. Reliable, dependable and consistent. Do I go out each week and give my team a chance to win? If there’s three minutes left, do we have a chance to win or did I do some foolish s— at the beginning of the game and turn the ball over and we’re behind?”