General managers in the NFL are rarely celebrated, often criticized, and consistently used as scapegoats when things go south. After assembling their franchise's roster, a general manager is no more than a fan in many ways, hoping for their chosen players to perform.
In the 2023 offseason, current Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort inherited a roster in a state of disarray. In just over two years, he has taken steps toward building a contender in the desert.
However, the NFL is an impatient league. Ideally, general managers would be given a long runway to build a dominant team from the ground up. In reality, owners are hungry for success. When that success doesn't come, the general manager can be one of the first to go.
Analyst hints that Monti Ossenfort could be on the hot seat
In a recent article, Bleacher Report analyst Gary Davenport checked in on how secure each NFL general manager's job is heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. He gave each general manager a "Hot Seat Meter" rating from one to ten, with ten indicating a severely unstable standing.
Davenport gave Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort a score of 7/10, showing a fairly significant risk of Ossenfort losing his position. According to Davenport, "if the team doesn’t make a playoff run in 2025, Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon are going to be sitting on hot seats."
Only three NFL general managers were graded as more likely to be replaced after the upcoming season.
Is speculation about Ossenfort's job security justified?
Monti Ossenfort has not ushered in immediate success as the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals. As Davenport mentions in his article, "the Cardinals are 10 games under .500 the past two years."
But when Ossenfort arrived, he was tasked with picking up the broken pieces of the previous regime. Arizona's roster was made up of an expensive quarterback and little talent elsewhere.
Ossenfort has initiated a strategy of building through the draft, finding long-term starters like Paris Johnson Jr. and Marvin Harrison Jr. in his first two seasons. He aced free agency in 2025, bringing in difference-making defenders who will immediately raise the level of this team.
Sure, Cardinals fans should hope for a return to the playoffs in 2025. This fanbase has been starved of success for what feels like an eternity, so frustration is justified. But Ossenfort is the beginning of the solution. He isn't the problem.