When Darnold came to Carolina in 2021, then-coach Matt Rhule was looking for a thorough assessment of the quarterback and reached out to Gannon, a straight-talking former league MVP who had studied the player as a CBS analyst. Gannon often worked Jets games.
Ball security had been an issue for Darnold at USC, where he had 36 turnovers — 22 interceptions and 14 fumbles — in 27 games.
“I had called Sam’s games when he was young and I was convinced this was not going to work out,” Gannon said. “He had those turnovers at USC and he brought that same behavior with him to the Jets. They should have sat his [butt] down his first year. He wasn’t ready to play. He was careless with the ball. When you have bad habits as a young player, oftentimes they’re hard to break. That was the first six years with this guy.”
Gannon had a long conversation with Rhule and told him Darnold had never gotten “The Talk,” an unvarnished conversation about how it’s either protect the football or say goodbye to your career.
The seasoned pro was speaking from experience.
“I was in the league for seven years — six in Minnesota and one in Washington — and I had never gotten the talk,” Gannon said.
It wasn’t until he arrived in Kansas City in 1995 that a coach delivered that to him.
“I was at my very first mini-camp with the Chiefs,” Gannon said. “I didn’t even know Marty Schottenheimer. My very first practice, I got like eight reps in a seven-on-seven period. I went seven of eight. I was spinning it. Footwork, great. Decisions, check. Accuracy, check. Everything perfect.
“I throw one crossing route to a tight end — I don’t think it was Tony Gonzalez — and I hit him right in the chest. Perfect throw. Goes right up in the air and gets picked off by the safety. Perfect throw.”
Gannon walked off the field and stood on the sideline. Schottenheimer made a beeline for him.
“I’m thinking this guy’s coming down to give me a fist bump like, ‘Dude, you’re awesome,’” the quarterback recalled. “He comes walking up to me and he was dead serious in a stern way. He goes, ‘Hey, let me tell you something. If you turn the ball over here, you won’t play here.’ He didn’t say you won’t start here. He said you won’t play here.
“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I called my wife that night and was like, ‘You’re not going to believe what just happened.’ But the point was made, and it was reiterated over and over. If you turn the ball over — I don’t care if you’re Joe Montana — you ain’t playing here.
At Rhule’s request, Gannon spoke to Darnold. The two quarterbacks had a phone call that lasted 1½ hours, and Gannon told him the Schottenheimer story. In a way, they had The Talk.
Although Gannon is not saying he had a role in Darnold’s current success, he does believe the quarterback has made significant strides in the way he protects the football.
“We need to see more of Sam,” he said. “But you have to be encouraged by the fact that there’s a lot of consistency in his game this year. That’s what was missing in the past.”
