Jonathan Gannon Fired By Cardinals, Who May Have NFL's Least Attractive Opening
Arizona faces major decisions about Kyler Murray's future and possible salary cap complications.
Black Monday's coach reaper has made a swing through the desert and understandably collected Jonathan Gannon of the Arizona Cardinals.
The team is firing the coach who, frankly, was kind of in over his head the past three seasons, as his 15-36 record clearly shows.
Gannon's Cardinals were a mess in 2025.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Never mind that the team had a 3-14 season because it was worse than that. The roster was in constant flux because of injuries and other decisions, which included quarterback Kyler Murray. The coaching staff Gannon gathered was mostly inexperienced. And the club allowed 30 points or more in seven games, including in four of the final five games of the season.
That was a bad look for Gannon because he's a coach with a background as a defensive coordinator. And the regression didn't speak to him or his staff's ability to make players better.
Gannon's three-year performance against NFC West teams was 3-15. There is no plan for the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to evacuate the NFC West, so nothing is about to get easier.
No bueno, as they say in some parts of Phoenix.
And now the big question: Is this vacancy in Arizona the worst of all the openings so far?
General view of an Arizona Cardinals helmet during the second half against the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
A Lot Of Openings With Positives
The Giants have an opening.
The Titans have an opening.
All those teams are arguably in a better situation than the Cardinals.
The Falcons have a better roster than just about any of those teams.
The Giants have a young nucleus and quarterback Jaxson Dart is an arrow-up kind of prospect.
The Titans have more salary cap space than any team for 2026, an estimated $83.5 million.
Las Vegas has the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and the Browns are locked in at No. 6 but have multiple first-round picks. The Raiders also have an estimated $74 million in cap space next year.
(Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
The Kyler Murray Question/Problem
The Cardinals have the No. 3 pick in the draft, which is good. But they have a major problem on their roster in that they don't know what to do about Murray.
Arizona is expected to move on from Murray in the coming offseason after seven seasons with the club. The No. 1 overall pick in 2019, Murray was limited to just five games last season because of a mid-foot injury.
Moving on from Murray will come with significant dead money salary cap ramifications for a team that is only middle-of-the-pack in cap space as is always watching its financial bottom line. The move would also obviously leave the team without a starting quarterback.
And, yes, general manager Monti Ossenfort will be responsible for navigating that issue along with the search for a new coach. Ossenfort is indeed staying put, according to the team.
But it's a lot, folks. The Cardinals are facing a lot.