The Arizona Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday after three losing seasons.
Playing in the juggernaut NFC West, the Cardinals started the season at 2-0 but finished 2025 with a 3-14 record. They were outscored by opponents by 133 points, lost their final nine games and were 0-6 in the division.
They ended the season Sunday with a 37-20 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“This morning, we spoke with Jonathan Gannon and let him know that we were going to go in a different direction with our head coach,” owner Michael Bidwill said in a Monday news conference. “Jonathan is a very smart, motivated, enthusiastic, intelligent, awesome coach. He and his staff, Gina Gannon, their families give so much and so much sacrifice to this organization. We are so appreciative of what he put into this organization.
“He made us better. But I think as you all know, this is a league about wins and losses. The wins and losses speak for themselves, especially this year. We just felt like we were going in the wrong direction and we needed to change course.”
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort will lead the search for a new head coach.
Arizona hired Gannon, previously the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, in February 2023.
The Cardinals have made just one playoff appearance since 2015 and will be looking for their eighth permanent head coach since 2001.
Gannon, 42, finishes with a 15-36 record. His best season came in 2024, when the Cardinals were 8-9.
The Cardinals had to fight through injuries this season, with quarterback Kyler Murray, running backs James Conner and Trey Benson, and wide receivers Simi Fehoko and Zay Jones among the players to spend time on injured reserve. Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. also missed time with injury, as did several key players on the defensive side.
Murray, the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, appeared in just five games because of a foot injury, leaving veteran backup Jacoby Brissett to start 12 games (1-11 record).
“I think when you come off a season like we have, I’d say all options are on the table,” Ossenfort said Monday of Murray’s future. “Whether it’s quarterback or any other position, all options are on the table and we’re gonna investigate all those to improve the team. And with every roster decision, like we always have, we’re going to do what’s in the best interest of the team.”
Conner, a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the previous two seasons, played in just three games before suffering a season-ending foot injury that required surgery.
Benson, a second-year back, missed the rest of the campaign with a meniscus injury sustained in Week 4.
–Field Level Media
