5 Pivotal Moments That Defined Jonathan Gannon’s Cardinals Tenure

Diving into these five moments that ultimately shaped Jonathan Gannon's time with the Arizona Cardinals.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon watches from the sidelines as they play against the Las Vegas Raiders at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, on Aug. 23, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jonathan Gannon era is officially over in Arizona.

That's been the case for weeks now after the Cardinals fired Gannon following the conclusion of the 2025 season, though it was revealed Gannon recently joined the Green Bay Packers as their defensive coordinator.

While the Cardinals narrow down their search for his replacement, now feels like a good time to officially put a bow on his tenure in the desert.

Sorting through Gannon's five pivotal moments that shaped his Cardinals career — starting from his first official moment:

The Introductory Press Conference

Jonathan Gannon is introduced as the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals by team president Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort (right) during a news conference at the Cardinals training facility in Tempe on Feb. 16, 2023. Nfl New Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

I was able to cover the final year of Kliff Kingsbury's season in the desert, which filled enough drama on and off the field to sell to Netflix for a whole series, and maybe a spin-off. The culture, for lack of much better terms, was in a bad place. Losing is contagious, and a once promising team under Kingsbury crumbled before his very own eyes.

The Cardinals' mission was clear — get somebody who can change the locker room for the better. They ultimately ended up with Gannon, making the final hire of the 2023 cycle.

I remember walking out of Gannon's introductory press conference feeling a sense of hope, even after all of the cheesy videos the Cardinals' social media team (pew pew) posted beforehand. Gannon, through my phone, came off as a goofy sort of dude.

His press conference gave off a different tone, one of actual hope to turn things around.

I remember walking away impressed, but still wondering if energy would translate into wins. I asked that same question then, and although the answer ultimately was no, it set the stage for what was some hopeful football ahead.

2023's Week 17 Upset Win in Philadelphia

Dec 31, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) waits for the snap against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Gannon's first year went about as you'd expect. The Cardinals, under the guidance of general manager Monti Ossenfort, stripped its roster down to bare bones and officially hit the reset button — hard.

As a result, Arizona's team was destined to be built from the ground up. Kyler Murray was still recovering from ACL surgery and would miss the first half of the season. The Cardinals lost key players to free agency, parted ways with big names and had a tough time convincing players to sign for an unknown project in Arizona.

On paper, Arizona's 3-12 record entering Week 17 was obviously less than impressive. However, there was a theme that followed the Cardinals that had the attention of opponents, local media and national broadcast partners on a weekly basis: They played hard.

That didn't mean much in the win/loss column, but for an undermanned team, it was a win on the moral scoreboard for the Cardinals to hang with some of the league's best teams over the course of four quarters.

After stealing an upset road victory in Pittsburgh weeks prior, the Cardinals traveled to the other side of Pennsylvania to take on an Eagles team fresh off losing Gannon the prior offseason. Perhaps the win in the Steel City was a fluke. Any given Sunday, as they say.

Arizona downed the Eagles in 35-31 fashion for another road upset victory, ultimately giving the Cardinals their biggest win, which actually came off the gridiron that evening.

After beating the Steelers and Eagles as road underdogs with Murray back under center, this felt like the first time there was true reason to believe in Gannon's Cardinals.

Sure, they were going to finish with an abysmal record that season. But with multiple big wins for the Gannon-Murray partnership down the second half of 2023, there was reason to think the Cardinals could be something sooner rather than later.

2024's Bye Week

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon holds his post season press conference at Arizona Cardinals Training Center on Jan. 6, 2025, in Tempe. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We've reached the point of the roller coaster right before it drops.

The Cardinals shocked nearly everyone in the football world to begin the 2024 season, starting 6-4 and entering their bye week with first place in the NFC West.

Arizona, with seven games left, controlled their own destiny to the postseason. Drew Petzing's offense was as balanced as ever. Nick Rallis' defense was outperforming expectations given their talent, and the Cardinals were winning games both in close and blowout fashion.

And admittedly so, I remember checking flights for postseason possibilities that week.

That was probably the high point of Gannon's career in Arizona, as after the Cardinals' bye, things have only spiraled.

Gannon's crew ended up losing their final five-of-seven games to finish 2024 with an 8-9 record. It was really the first time we saw Gannon coach a team with legitimate expectations, and they were unable to follow through... which set the stage for 2025.

2025: Week 5's Collapse vs Tennessee

Oct 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (31) runs the ball for 71 yards before fumbling against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Cardinals reloaded their defense, investing heavy draft and free agent capital into that side of the ball ahead of 2025. Arizona, in a pivotal year three under Gannon, had playoff expectations given the improvement of a roster that showed promise the year prior.

The Cardinals began the year 2-0, rather unconvincingly in each game against lesser opponents in New Orleans and Carolina, before losing consecutive games to the 49ers and Seahawks.

Arizona lost their NFC west battles thanks to walk-off kicks at the end of regulation within a four-day span. There's no shame in that, as that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

However, Arizona's Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans served as not only a turning point for the Cardinals' season, but also Gannon's tenure in the desert.

With roughly 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Arizona's up 21-6 before Emari Demercado breaks off a 72-yard touchdown run to what would have effectively iced the game for the Cardinals.

However, Demercado dropped the ball right before crossing the goal line, wiping the touchdown off the board and giving the Titans a much-needed break.

That's when it really hit the fan.

Gannon was spotted (and eventually fined for doing so) in a heated exchange with Demercado on the sideline, the first moment where the Cardinals' coach really lost his cool.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was fined $100K for shoving Emari Demercado after the running back dropped a potential TD ball at the goal line, resulting in a touchback.

The Cards ended up losing the game by one point to the Tennessee Titans.

(H/T @adamschefter) pic.twitter.com/IDpgKJymYd

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 8, 2025

Arizona collapsed in epic fashion, ultimately losing 22-21 to Tennessee.

From hindsight, it felt like the Cardinals didn't recover from this moment. People talk so much about how the NFL is a week-to-week league, and while that holds true, Gannon was never really able to consistently rally the troops.

What should have been an easy win for Arizona quickly turned into an ugly lesson (on the field and off to the sideline) the Cardinals couldn't shake the rest of the way.

2025: Final Home Game vs Atlanta

Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris meet briefly following a game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

It felt like owner Michael Bidwill was looking for every reason to keep Gannon around for another year, even in the midst of a season that truly felt like it rose from the deepest and darkest depths of the world.

The Cardinals, entering their Week 16 home finale against the Atlanta Falcons, were already out of playoff contention. They had lost their last 11-of-12 games, but even to that point, practically every report from insiders suggested Gannon was thought to be safe. Even Gannon himself gave off belief he was going to stick around for 2026.

Bidwill just needed to see something. Some reason of hope. Some sort of hill to plant his flag on moving into the offseason, and the visiting 5-9 Falcons was Arizona's last true hope of getting a win on the schedule and pushing Gannon to safety.

It didn't happen, as Arizona fell to Atlanta by a 26-19 scoreline. With chalked losses to the Bengals and Rams left on the schedule, it appeared the Cardinals would finish the season losing their final 14-of-15 games.

That in itself made bringing back Gannon, or anybody on his staff, extremely difficult and ultimately unjustified.