He played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette[1] and in the NFL for the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers.
As a senior at Orange Park High, he was second-team Class AAAA and made the All-State team.
Gannon played in nine games [5] in the weak side defensive end position during his junior year.
At the time, he was only one of eight Cajuns in history to stop opponent drives and cause double-digit losses in a single season.
Gannon ended his senior year of football as one of the top defensive lineman in the county.
[4] Gannon earned three letters in football and was inducted into the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
[3] Chris Gannon was selected by the New England Patriots as the seventeenth pick in the third round of the 1989 NFL draft.
[7] Due to his stand-out college years, Chris Gannon was considered to be one of the country's top defensive linemen available in the 1989 NFL draft.
Gannon's speed, agility, strength, and field reaction were all qualities the Patriot's needed to shore up their defense.
[3] Gannon was waived by the Patriots in 1989, failing to make the final roster cut to forty-seven players.
The Chargers placed Gannon on Injured Reserve on 17 November 1989 due to a knee injury.
The Chargers left him unprotected, thinking other teams would shy away from him due to his knee injury.
[12] Gannon started off the Patriots 1990 season recovering from a knee injury and surgery incurred while playing for the Chargers in 1989.
[14] The Patriots placed Gannon on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list due to the knee injury where he stayed the during first eight weeks of the season.
[16] Gannon, recovered from the knee surgery, chalked up seven tackles with three assists in the six games he played for the Patriots during the remainder of the 1990 season.
[14] He was placed on the Injured Reserve list on 27 August 1991 due to a preseason knee injury.
[18] He recovered a Buffalo Bills fumbled punt during his first game back as a roster member on 3 November 1991.
The Patriots viewed him as a valuable member of the special teams squad because of is ability to make the long snap.
[25] Chris was embarrassed by the gaff and looked as if he wanted to "dig a hole at the 50-yard line and crawl into the ground".
Chris Gannon, along with his wife Ruth Ann returned to Lafayette, Louisiana after his NFL career was over.
This career has taken him to Texas and back again to Louisiana during which he won numerous sales, field management, and leadership awards and recognition.
[29] After high school, Brandon followed his father's path to University of Louisiana, appearing as a preferred walk-on in 2018.
[32] His daughter Hailey Gannon has played soccer for St. Thomas More[33] as a midfielder and made All-District second-team for Division II, District three in 2019.
[34] Ruth Ann (Schoeffler) Gannon also attended University of Louisiana and lettered in track.
[35] Donnie F. Gannon Jr, Chris's older brother, died on June 5, 2010, at age 52.