What Jonathan Gannon Must Do to Save His Job With the Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals' head coach has to do this to finish the 2025 season.

Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon against the Jacksonville Jaguars at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The future of Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is one of many hot topics in the desert as the 2025 season comes to a close.

Gannon, with his team at 3-10 approaching Week 15, finds himself on uncomfortable ground with the Cardinals' final four games ahead thanks to one of the more disappointing seasons in recent franchise history.

After making heavy investments on the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals were supposed to be postseason contenders. Yet their 2-0 start was met with a massive reality check after Arizona lost their next ten-of-eleven games to reach this point.

NFL insider Jeremy Fowler says Gannon has to do this to silence noise around his job:

Jonathan Gannon Simply Has to Find Wins

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon speaks with the officials during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

ESPN recently released their Week 15 buzz file, which included some bits about coaching changes on the horizon.

After fellow Dan Graziano mentioned Arizona as a place to watch (though he's leaning towards the Cardinals keeping him), Fowler pitched in with this on what Gannon needs to do:

"I'm with you on the Cardinals. Keeping Jonathan Gannon is a sensible play for owner Michael Bidwill. But Arizona is staring at a potential 1-14 finish. The team is miserably bad right now and finishes the season with the Texans, Falcons, Bengals and Rams. Gannon might need to win one, maybe two games to reach solid footing."

Jeremy Fowler on Jonathan Gannon

Fowler is absolutely correct in his evaluation.

Cardinals Can't Lose-Out to Finish 2025

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon looks on during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

It's incredibly hard to justify bringing Gannon back this season, should Arizona lose their remaining games and finish the season at 3-14.

It's understood injuries have diminished the Cardinals' roster and that requires nuance to this conversation, though the other side of the coin highlights Arizona's overall inability to improve players on the depth chart.

Gannon, to his credit, has shouldered every ounce of blame throughout the 2025 season and has absorbed 100% responsiblity for what's happened.

That's admirable, but by doing that, you also run the risk of being the first head to roll in an offseason that could be begging for change.

Arizona's only favored in one game to finish their season, which comes at home against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16.

Three of their last four games are on the road against the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams -- all of which are staunchly jockeying for postseason position.

It won't be easy, but the Cardinals put themselves in this position.

The locker room hasn't given up on Gannon, which bodes well for his chances of staying. Yet the Cardinals have to find a way to secure 1-2 more wins this season.

Arizona's been in a wide range of close games this season, losing a stretch of five matchups by 13 points earlier in the year while also being on the receiving end of allowing three 40+ point performances since their Monday Night Football win back in Week 9.

Style points don't matter now -- Gannon simply has to find a way to win regardless of fashion.

His job very well could depend on it.