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Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon looks on from the sidelines as they play against the Tennessee Titans at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 5, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hot Seat Breakdown: Which Arizona Cardinals Feel The Heat?

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Nov 11, 2025 8:30 AM ET

The Arizona Cardinals have fallen way short of expectations this season.

What was supposed to be a successful third year under head coach Jonathan Gannon has quickly gone astray following a 2-0 start. Now, entering Week 11, the Cardinals are far outside the playoff picture looking in.

The blame game is a popular one as of late in the desert, and while no singular person is at fault for the Cardinals' midseason collapse, the biggest names will be evaluated first and foremost.

The future is quite unclear in Arizona, and discussions surrounding Gannon, quarterback Kyler Murray and general manager Monti Ossenfort are sure to continue until final resolutions are stamped in either direction.

Let's take a look at each individual's hot seat, rating them on a scale of 1-10 (1 being cold, 5 being warm, 10 being on fire) and giving reasons for all three to either stay or go:

Jonathan Gannon

Hot Seat Rating: 4.5/10

Why Gannon Should Stay: Gannon's done an incredible job of establishing a brand new culture in Arizona, and he clearly has the locker room bought into him. The Cardinals, up until last week, were arguably a few plays away from being a 6-1 or 5-2 football team. Though that final gear hasn't been hit, it's clear there's potential to work with.

Why Gannon Should Go: For as talented as the Cardinals are, they haven't gotten the job done - and the first reaction is to look at coaching. His NFC West counterparts clearly have proven to be on a different level and while they've been close, Arizona simply isn't finding ways to win in a year they should be.

Verdict: Gannon is a solid coach. While it feels like the Cardinals leave too much on the table on a weekly basis, Gannon is a better option that the current pool of head coaching candidates moving into the offseason. He should be given another year, but there needs to be a stronger leash on those around and below him.

Monti Ossenfort

Hot Seat Rating: 3/10

Why Ossenfort Should Stay: Ossenfort did the smart thing and completely stripped a bad roster to its bare bones after taking over in 2023. Slowly he's pushed the team into contention expectations with key acquisitions through free agency and the draft. Ossenfort assembled the right ingredients, the meals just aren't being cooked like they should be.

Why Ossenfort Should Go: In hindsight, not addressing anything on the offensive side of the ball this offseason was a massive miss. Each GM has misses in the draft, though first-round picks in Marvin Harrison Jr., Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen have either failed to live up to the hype or suffered from injuries. Bad contracts from 2024's free agent cycle are also still haunting the team.

Verdict: It's awfully tough to place enough blame on Ossenfort to get him gone. For the most part he's operated carefully and his biggest downfall has been injuries - though that's out of his control. Arizona did right to emphasize building through the draft and Ossenfort should continue to see that through.

Kyler Murray

Hot Seat Rating: 7

Why Murray Should Stay: It's simply hard to find a quarterback that possesses the high end athleticism and arm talent Murray does. This year, the Cardinals effectively turned him into a game manager, and to his credit, he didn't really "lose" any games for them. In fairness to Murray, we didn't see Petzing give Murray opportunities like Jacoby Brissett in terms of play-calling and airing it out at much higher rates.

Why Murray Should Go: While Murray hasn't quite been a problem, it's obvious he's not the solution for this specific team/coaching staff. The offense has functioned much better since the quarterback switch, which has exposed some of Murray's shortcomings as a quarterback in Petzing's system.

Verdict: After seven years, it feels like we've seen what we can out of Murray and a split is probably best for both sides. That's not an indictment on Murray's talents, but more so the reality of not wanting to waste any more time for either team or player in this scenario. Both sides likely understand that, too.