WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. On an NFC West story we've been covering since Sunday, it appears a conclusion has been reached regarding Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon's incident on Sunday, when he physically struck running back Emari Demercado following Demercado's uncontested turnover on the goal line.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Cardinals fined Gannon and the matter is now complete.
"Sources: Cardinals are fining HC Jonathan Gannon $100,000 for his sideline altercation with RB Emari Demercado, who dropped the football before crossing the goal line Sunday on what would’ve been a 72-yard touchdown run," wrote Schefter. "There will be no further discipline for Gannon."
As a result of the incident, Rams color commentator and former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew shared his thoughts following the fine.
"Fine," tweeted Jones-Drew. "He should be fired bc if the player did that to him he would get cut smh"
Jones-Drew is one of many current and former players who have weighed in on the issue. It appears Gannon's action has divided opinion.
Former Rams defensive end Chris Long spoke about the incident on his Green Light Podcast. Long stated that Gannon should have never put his hands on a player, calling out the fact that had Demercado been the one to strike Gannon, this wouldn't be a conversation; Demercado would have firmly been in the wrong.
Coaches shouldn’t be putting their hands on their players… pic.twitter.com/ID67dzr8OW
— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) October 7, 2025
On Monday, Gannon spoke to reporters, where he informed the media that he had already apologized to Demercado, feeling poorly about the situation after tempers cooled.
"I didn't see the video, but I actually woke up this morning and didn't feel great about it, honestly," stated Gannon. "And so in the team meeting, I addressed it. I apologize to Emari, I apologized to the team, I just told them, I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there."
"Obviously I try to be emotionally stable and calm, because my job is to solve problems during a game, and kind of lead the charge on that. So it's not really who I am, who I want to be, and I told the guys that today. So it's a mistake by me."
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