Should the Cardinals consider moving on from Jonathan Gannon? originally appeared on Sports news. Add “Sports News” as Preferred source by clicking here.
Sunday game against Los Angeles Rams followed the same path as most games for Arizona Cardinals they lost 45–17 this season. It was Arizona's fifth straight loss and 10th in its last 11 games. Seeing what a disaster this season has become, it's fair to wonder if the Cardinals will move on from coach Jonathan Gannon at the end of the season. But will this be the right step?
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To answer that question, we need to look not only at this season's 3-10 record, but also at how the Cardinals have performed during Gannon's three-year tenure.
Let's start with the most obvious place – Gannon's record. Sunday's loss not only dropped Arizona to 3-10 on the season, but also improved the Cardinals to 15-32 under Gannon.
We'll call this Strike 1 against Gannon.
Of course, some entries require additional context to explain. In 2023, Gannon took on a bad situation. The Cardinals went 4-13 in 2022, finishing in last place in the NFC West. In fact, that 2022 season featured two NFC West teams: San Francisco 49ers And Seattle Seahawksreaching the playoffs. Although the Rams had a disappointing 5-12 season, they were just a year away from winning the Super Bowl. So Gannon inherited a difficult situation.
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For that reason, we're not going to hold Arizona's 4-13 record in Gannon's first season against him too much. However, it's worth noting that the NFC West's prospects have gotten much worse in 2023. The 49ers won the NFC Championship, the Rams bounced back to make the playoffs, while the Seahawks missed the playoffs but went 9–8. Los Angeles and Seattle both made the playoffs in 2024, while San Francisco fell to 6-11. Arizona, on the other hand, showed signs of improvement, scoring 8-9 points.
Unfortunately for Gannon, the progress from 2023 to 2024 is now working against him. A four-game improvement from 2023 to 2024 (not to mention a 2-0 start to the 2025 season) lived up to the Cardinals' hopes. These expectations were not met. Meanwhile, this rift is now more daunting than ever for Arizona. The Rams and Seahawks are 10-3, while the 49ers are 9-4. Not only do all three teams appear to have their sights set on the playoffs, but all have a legitimate chance to become the top seed in the NFC.
And while the strength of the division could be used as context to give Gannon a break from his poor results, the circumstances behind those teams paint a different picture. The Seahawks have moved on from Russell Wilson after a disappointing 2021 season and Pete Carroll after 2023. The Rams and 49ers had losing seasons in 2022 and 2024, respectively. But for these teams, these setbacks were temporary. For the Cardinals, the progress was temporary.
And although Gannon inherited a bad situation, it is no better now than in 2022.
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In fact, due to the situation surrounding quarterback Kyler Murray, there is a strong argument that Arizona is in worse shape now than it was three years ago.
Murray hasn't played since Week 5 and already ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season. This has been a common theme throughout Murray's career and can be traced back to before Gannon took over. Murray tore his ACL late in the 2022 season and didn't return until November 2023. Frankly, it gives the team's 4-13 record that season some extra context. The starting quarterback was out for a few weeks, and when he returned, he was shaking off the rust.
The problem for Gannon is that, while it's not his fault, Murray hasn't improved under his leadership.
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Murray 2019–2022: Completion percentage 66.8, passer rating 92.5, QBR rating 57.7. Through 17 games, he averages 4,130 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 657 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
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Murray 2023–2025: Completion percentage 67.8, passer rating 91.6, QBR rating 48.0. Over 17 games, he averaged 3,747 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, 560 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Eat already strong assumptions that the Cardinals would move on from Murray at the end of the season. Indeed, this is the final dagger in Gannon's case.
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If the Cardinals move on from Gannon, it means a new quarterback of the future is on the way. At best, Murray's progress under Gannon has stalled. So why did Arizona trust him to oversee the development of a new quarterback? Gannon isn't entirely to blame for Murray's problems. However, there has been no progress and, to be realistic, no significant regression.
There's no point in firing Gannon before the season ends. Since the team has already dropped out of contention for the postseason and is confident of finishing in last place, it is impossible to achieve any significant results from continuing to play now. But if they move on from Murray, then it's time for a coaching reset. And even if by some chance the decision is made to stick with Murray for another season, nothing has happened under Gannon's leadership to indicate he deserves a fourth season.
