What Rival Coaches and Executives Thought of Jonathan Gannon’s $100K Fine

Jonathan Gannon came under fire for how he handled his sideline confrontation with running back Emari Demercado.

Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon was criticized for his sideline confrontation with running back Emari Demercado. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

It’s been a long week for Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. On Sunday, Arizona suffered what will be remembered as one of the most brutal losses of the NFL season, blowing a 21–3 lead to give the lowly Titans their first win of the season.

There were plenty of bad plays sharing the load of the blame for the Cardinals, but none stood out more than running back Emari Demercado dropping the ball just short of the goal line to turn what would have been a 70-yard touchdown into a turnover.

After the play, Gannon was seen laying into Demercado, opening up another conversation about player treatment. Gannon has since apologized, and was fined $100,000 by team owner Michael Bidwill for the confrontation.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, there are some in NFL circles that disagree with Bidwill’s decision to fine his coach.

Per Russini:

“It was a meltdown. He’s a first-time head coach, felt helpless. I don’t think they needed to fine him. You deal with that internally,” one NFC head coach said.

A rival executive was blunt: “The owner cut his balls off in front of his entire team.”

While it’s no surprise there were those against the team’s decision, some other sources Russini talked to understood why the fine was levied.

“You can’t push a player like that. That’s garbage,” one AFC assistant said.

One player in the same division agreed over text, “Nah, you can’t do that. That can change a locker room.”

Opinions are split. On the one hand, Demercado made a mistake that no professional athlete can make, and it cost his team a potential win. Gannon was understandably heated. At the same time, such an aggressive move by a coach on the sidelines for the world to see is undeniably a bad look.

The best way for Gannon and the Cardinals to put this mess behind them would be by figuring out a way to win on Sunday against the Colts.

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