Arizona Coach Apologizes After Ripping Cardinals RB Who Fumbled TD
Some call it "tough love."
If your coach back in YOUR day used to scream in your face for breathing wrong on the football field, look away — this one’s gonna sting.
Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon delivered a full-blown mea culpa Monday after tearing into his running back, Emari Demercado, who baffled fans by dropping a would-be 72-yard touchdown right before crossing the plane.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 31: Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon walks onto the field before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 31, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The fumble had massive implications, keeping the door open for the lowly Tennessee Titans to storm back (once down 21-3) for a gob-smacking 22-21 win over the Cardinals.
READ: TD Scrubbed After Cardinals RB Drops Football, Inches Away From Scoring
Demercado’s touchdown would’ve put the Cards up 28-6 — assuming they could knock down the extra point.
After the fumble (a mistake that’s become far too common in today’s NFL), Gannon lost it on the sideline, unloading on Demercado in a moment caught on camera — and quickly drawing backlash for a supposed lack of compassion.
OutKick’s Zach Dean called it: we’d have an apology by mid-day … and here it is.
On Monday, Gannon addressed the sideline tirade.
"I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly," Gannon said.
"So, in the team meeting I addressed it — I apologized to Emari, apologized to the team. I just told them I let the moment of what happened get the better of me."
Gannon, now 14-25 as HC, shouldn’t expect that same compassion from Cards fans who just witnessed one of the NFL’s more royal collapses since the 28-3 Patriots Super Bowl comeback — or the "New Miracle at the Meadowlands," when DeSean Jackson broke every Giants fan’s heart.
Tennessee had zero wins heading into Week 5. Just a week earlier, Titans QB Cam Ward described his own team as pure "a**."
Consider the Arizona Cardinals the toilet seat.
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