The Arizona Cardinals have officially made their first big move of the offseason, firing head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday morning following a dismal 3–14 season. The team will begin its head coaching search immediately, and it will be led by general manager Monti Ossenfort.
The team released a statement regarding the move:
“Expectations were high for the Cardinals in 2025, but they were not met, and with that, the team has moved on from Jonathan Gannon as head coach.”
Gannon could’ve made a case to keep his job after seeing massive improvement in 2024, leading the charge on an 8–9 season. However, due to the massive decline the team saw this year, it left upper management with no choice but to fire the third-year head coach.
You can make the argument that it wasn’t Gannon’s fault, as the team was plagued by injuries all year. For starters, Kyler Murray, the team’s franchise quarterback, hadn’t played since Week 5, and the team saw plenty of turmoil on their defense with Walter Nolen III, Will Johnson, Max Melton, and others missing extensive periods of time.
On another note, the team was without Marvin Harrison Jr., their top draft pick from 2024, who missed four games with injuries. The team was also unable to rely on one particular running back due to the number of injuries they saw at that position, as James Conner, Trey Benson, and Bam Knight all hit injured reserve.
2025 was never going to be a year to compete for Arizona, especially with the three other juggernauts in their division that amounted to six losses in the Rams, 49ers, and division-winning Seahawks. The massive drop off in win totals from a year prior did the team in when it came to making the difficult decision.
In his three seasons, Gannon posted a 15–36 record and missed the playoffs each time.
Gannon joins Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski, Las Vegas’ Pete Carroll, and Atlanta’s Raheem Morris as the coaches fired on what they call “Black Monday.”
We will learn more about what Ossenfort has in mind when a set of candidates emerges.