Kyler Murray Pays Heartfelt Tribute After Jonathan Gannon’s Firing

Kyler Murray posts an emotional message honoring former Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon following his firing.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) talks with head coach Jonathan Gannon during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Aug. 6, 2025. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The dust is beginning to settle on the Arizona Cardinals' decision to fire Jonathan Gannon, which sent shockwaves through the league.

The move itself wasn't entirely surprising, though many reports indicated Gannon was safer than expected despite the Cardinals' dismal 3-14 season.

Alas, they were wrong.

Gannon's gone, and Kyler Murray's been one of the few players to extend their gratitude publicly to the now-fired Cardinals coach -- sharing a heartfelt message on X:

"My guy, genuinely loved going to war with you. Appreciate who you are as a man and a coach. Warpath-" Murray posted.

My guy, genuinely loved going to war with you. Appreciate who you are as a man and a coach. Warpath- pic.twitter.com/MzU2giXvjm

— Kyler Murray (@K1) January 5, 2026

Gannon insisted on the day he got hired that Murray was a major reason why he took the job in Arizona, and up until his last moments in the team's facility at Tempe, Gannon was extremely complimentary of Murray.

ESPN's Josh Weinfuss added, "Gannon and Kyler were close. They didn’t live far from each other, and Kyler would occasionally go over to Gannon’s. They watched a Super Bowl together, and would talk on the phone on the way home from games, dissecting what happened."

The Cardinals move into the offseason needing a new head coach while Murray's future is still up in the air approaching 2026. With his season ending on injured reserve after not playing since Week 5, many believe his seventh year in the desert could be his last.

Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort seemed noncommittal to Murray's future when asked about it.

"I think what we have to do is we have to look long and hard at the season and what happened. When you have a season like this, I think all options are on the table," Ossenfort said.

"And so things didn't work out. Kyler was injured this year, Jacoby stepped in and played well. We'll see what that leads to. We'll see what that leads into the offseason as we construct the 2026 team. But those discussions are for another day, not the day after the season has ended."

Murray is highly anticipated to be on the move, and a decision on his future will likely be based or considered with whoever takes the Cardinals' vacant head coaching gig.

Arizona surely will have a plan in place ahead of March 15, when Murray's 2027 base salary becomes fully guaranteed.

The Gannon-Murray duo is officially over, though both could be absent on the team's 2026 roster.