Jonathan Gannon will not help Cardinals make massive Kyler Murray decision

A recent report revealed that there was at least an "outside chance" that Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill could hang onto quarterback Kyler Murray and move on from head coach Jonathan Gannon and/or general manager Monti Ossenfort this winter. 

It's now known that Gannon will not be picking Arizona's starting signal-caller for Week 1 of the 2026 season. 

Cardinals make Jonathan Gannon, Monti Ossenfort decision

The Cardinals confirmed on Monday that they parted ways with Gannon less than 24 hours after they lost a ninth straight game to finish the campaign at 3-14. According to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, Ossenfort "will spearhead the search for a new head coach." 

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero (h/t Grant Gordon) also reported that Ossenfort will hold onto his job.

Neither Ossenfort nor Gannon was with the Cardinals when they made Murray the first selection of the 2019 draft or when the club signed Murray to a five-year contract extension in the summer of 2022. Reports from December suggested that Bidwill would retain both Gannon and Ossenfort, which would have allowed the pair to choose a new starting quarterback later this year. 

Murray has zero career playoff wins on his NFL resume and made just five starts this season before Arizona shut him down due to a foot injury. However, it appears Bidwill blamed Gannon for the fact that the coach accumulated a woeful 15-36 record in his three seasons with the Cardinals. 

Arizona started the 2025 campaign with two straight wins but then notched only a single victory from Week 3 through Week 18. Meanwhile, fellow NFC West teams the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers all qualified for the playoffs. 

Will new coach want to work with Kyler Murray?

Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk noted that "Arizona is also widely expected to move on from" Murray at some point in the next few months. That said, it's possible that a new head coach and/or a different offensive coordinator may feel that Murray is a better option for the start of the 2026 season than what the Cardinals could get either before or after the upcoming draft takes place. 

Quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore could be the first two picks of the draft. The Cardinals are currently third in the draft order.