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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

Is Jonathan Gannon Coaching for His Job in Arizona?

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Richie Bradshaw | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 6:55 PM ET

There's nothing better than a good old-fashioned overreaction, especially when your favorite NFL team isn't living up to expectations.

That's where Arizona Cardinals fans find themselves right now following the team's miserable 2-3 start to the season. It's not impossible to turn the year around, and certainly, a team with playoff hopes will be aiming to do so. However, history is against the team.

The start has obviously made many upset within the fan base, and now there are questions circulating around the team's staff and whether they should be on the hot seat.

That talk centers around head coach Jonathan Gannon, although offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is also in a bad spot. Fans are split on whether Gannon should be fired by the end of the season if the 2025 campaign continues to go south.

Jonathan Gannon on the hot seat?

However, fans aren't the only people wondering about this. CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr threw together some overreactions following Week 5 of the 2025 season and included Gannon and the Cardinals. His overreaction? "Jonathan Gannon won't last past this season in Arizona."

Not only did Kerr list this as an overreaction, but he justified those feelings as a possible reality. Kerr noted a 2-0 start with close wins before a two-game skid thanks to walk-off field goals. The overreaction stems from the Cardinals' loss to the Tennessee Titans, of course, of which Kerr had this to say:

"Arizona lost to Tennessee on a walk-off field goal Sunday to fall to 2-3, but this one should have been preventable. Emari Demercado dropped a ball going into the end zone that resulted in a turnover — and would have put Arizona up 28-6 in the fourth quarter.

"The Cardinals then either fumbled or punted on six of their final eight possessions... The Titans are one of the worst teams in the NFL, and the Cardinals blew a commanding lead at home. For a team that needs to either make the playoffs or be competitive enough to push for one, that can't happen."

Well, you won't find much disagreement from many there. The Titans are arguably the worst team in football right now, yet the Cardinals not only couldn't blow out a lower opponent, but they couldn't even put them away late and pull off a tight win.

That's inexcusable no matter how tenured or successful a head coach you are. Through and through, that was a horrific loss for the Cardinals — the worst of the Jonathan Gannon era and one of the worst Arizona has had in years.

As we mentioned before, the Cardinals are in a bind now at 2-3. The NFC West division is strong, with all three of the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks looking capable of winning the division crown. The Cardinals not only look well behind them, but they're trailing in the race with two losses already.

With the NFC West division title likely out of reach, Arizona will need to bid for a wild-card spot, and that won't be any easier.

Losses are losses right now for the Cardinals, and they're well on the outside looking in as we approach mid-October. Kerr put it like this when assessing what these losses mean for Gannon and the team:

"The losses are close, but Gannon has little wiggle room. He needs to turn this around, or his tenure with the Cardinals won't last much longer."

I do agree that Gannon has little wiggle room; however, I push back on Gannon's tenure with the Cardinals not lasting much longer... or at least I think I do.

To be fair, the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" league, and Gannon is currently 4-8 in his last 12 games dating back to last year's bye week. Remember, the Cardinals were 6-4 at their bye and ended the season 8-9. Now, a 2-0 start has soured into 2-3 with big games left ahead.

Things aren't looking good for the Cardinals.

Gannon is certainly a team leader and someone who has rallied the Cardinals to him, but it's not resulting in wins — which is literally all that matters in sports. There's no denying he's on the hot seat right now, but perhaps it is more intense than we realize. Maybe Kerr is on to something...

For my two cents, I am not giving up on Gannon pending the Cardinals losing out the remainder of the season. There's lots of good to work with right now, and Arizona cannot continue to hit the reset button if they hope to contend again.

Gannon has gotten them closer, but they have soul-searching to do to figure out what the heck is going on.

Will Gannon be fired by the end of the year? It's not impossible, hence Kerr's take that it is a possible reality.

It's crazy to think how quickly things have changed compared to when we looked at this team just a few short months ago... but that's where we're at, and Gannon is likely coaching for his job in the desert for the rest of 2025.