Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon got very little love from NBC Sports in its coaching rankings.
Gannon, going into his third season with Arizona, is ranked 21st among 25 NFL head coaches. The seven new head coaches for 2025 were not ranked.
Even though he doubled the Cardinals’ win total in 2024 from 2023, Gannon only moved up two places in NBC Sports’ rankings. The Cardinals were 4-13 in Gannon’s first season and 8-9 last season.
Going from a four-win team to an eight-win team sounds worthy of more than a two-ranking jump. We think he deserved a better ranking from NBC Sports. Nobody is saying Gannon is the equal of three-time Super Bowl champion head coach Andy Reid, but the Cardinals showed definite improvement from Gannon’s first season.
The trend line is obvious.
Author Patrick Daugherty’s assessment of Gannon almost sounds like a show-me season coming up in 2025.
“Gannon has had a solid two years in the desert,” Daugherty wrote. “If he improves again in 2025, he’ll be getting a second contract out of a roster that could have easily gotten him fired.”
Super Bowl winners
Five of the top eight in Dougherty’s list have won the Super Bowl:
1. Chiefs’ Andy Reid
2. Rams’ Sean McVey
3. Ravens’ John Harbaugh
5. Eagles’ Nick Sirianni
8. Steelers’ Mike Tomlin
The Broncos’ Sean Payton (12) won a Super Bowl with the Saints.
Challenging 2025 for Gannon and Cardinals
Gannon’s career record with the Cardinals is 12-22 (.353). He faces a challenging third year. Every NFC West team seemed to improve in the offseason. The Cardinals did, too, with their defensive enhancements.
NFC West rivals have highly rated coaches in McVey, and the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan (ranked 4). The Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald (19) is ranked higher than Gannon.
That leaves, as usual, a vital NFL Draft for Arizona and the rest of the teams in the division.
Another factor that makes the draft interesting — and the 2025 season fascinating — is that draft experts are mixed on what Arizona should do with its early picks. Some experts say keep building the defense. Others say draft to make the offense a potential powerhouse.
So much is at stake. More than NBC's rankings.