Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said to be on hot seat in 2025, but why?
Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said to be on hot seat in 2025, but why? PFF names Gannon as one of 10 head coaches on the hot seat in 2025. That makes no sense.
The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for what is hopefully a competitive 2025 season. There are real playoff aspirations this year. Head coach Jonathan Gannon seems to have had the Cardinals in the right directions.
But for some reason, PFF lists Gannon as one of 10 head coaches on the hot seat in 2025.
Why?
Gannon has mustered only a 12-22 cumulative record with the Cardinals, and his defensive background hasn't extrapolated. Arizona has ranked 32nd and 27th in defensive EPA per play during Gannon's first two years, respectively. The team also faces questions about the long-term future of Kyler Murray (82.1 PFF overall grade), who has fluctuated between MVP candidate and question mark.
Arizona's roster has been extremely lackluster throughout Gannon's tenure, which is why it's hard to fully blame him for the team's performance. A much-needed infusion of talent was added this offseason via Josh Sweat (70.0 PFF overall grade), Calais Campbell (85.9 PFF run-defense grade), Walter Nolen (88.9 PFF overall grade) and Will Johnson (76.7 PFF coverage grade).
The improved roster should mean a more competitive team, and Gannon needs to assert that the Cardinals can battle both divisional and NFC powerhouses in the near future. If Arizona finishes below .500 for a third straight season, it wouldn't be shocking if Gannon were fired, even if progress is displayed. After all, owner Michael Bidwill canned Kliff Kingsbury in his fourth season despite finishing 11-6 the year before.
While one could say that no NFL head coaching job is completely secure, to say Gannon is on the hot seat is not paying attention.
The Cardinals fired Kliff Kingsbury after the 11-win team became a four-win dumpster fire. The team was bad. Everything went bad. There was conflict with the starting quarterback. Things were spiraling.
You can't look at Gannon's record in a vacuum. In 2023, his first year as head coach, they went from being a four-win dumpster fire team to a very tough, competitive four-win team. I liked to call them a good bad team. They were a bad team with a lack of talent, but they were good in terms of competition. They weren't a good team. They were a good bad team.
In 2024, they doubled their win total to eight, which was, based on national expectations, a best-case scenario. They were a perfectly mediocre team, losing to playoff teams and winning almost all the games they should have. They were even 6-4 and leading the NFC West at their bye before struggling down the stretch.
With an improved roster, especially on defense, they can legitimately compete in the division. Now, if they fall short of expectations, then 2026 will be Gannon's hot-seat year. But short of an absolute dumpster fire season like 2022, Gannon is as secure as a coach can be this year.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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