After a 2-0 start, the Arizona Cardinals are floundering.
The Cardinals have dropped six of their last seven games, with a Week 9 win over the Dallas Cowboys the only thing separating Arizona from the indignity of a seven-game losing streak.
Sunday evening might represent the worst result of them all. The Cardinals dropped their Week 10 tilt with the Seattle Seahawks, 44-22. Arizona surrendered 35 unanswered points to start the game.
Jacoby Brissett struggled mightily in the game, fumbling the ball two times. Both ended in Seahawks touchdowns courtesy of DeMarcus Lawrence.
The result -- and its blowout nature -- reflected poorly on Arizona's head coach, Jonathan Gannon. The 42-year-old has already faced questions for his team's inability to win close games. A blowout against a divisional opponent -- even one as gifted as Seattle -- doesn't bode well for a man whose tactics are being questioned.
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Naturally, many are wondering whether the Cardinals could hand Gannon his pink slip in the coming few weeks. Here's the latest on Gannon's status, as well as the mounting pressure that surrounds him.
Will the Cardinals fire Jonathan Gannon?
Arizona fell to 3-6 on the season with Sunday's defeat. The Cardinals sit at the bottom of the NFC West 2.5 games back of the third-place 49ers. A postseason appearance seems unlikely, especially with Arizona facing the second-toughest remaining schedule in the league.
Gannon's squad showed signs of life in 2024, improving its record by four wins and competing for a playoff berth up until the latter stages of the year.
Things have taken a turn for the worse thus far, as Gannon's relationship with longtime starter Kyler Murray has come under fire. Ahead of Week 10, Gannon announced Jacoby Brissett was replacing Murray under center in a move made to give the Cardinals "clarity and knowledge on a short week," per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
MORE: Why was Jacoby Brissett named the Cardinals starter?
Things got bizarre afterwards, with Schefter reporting that Murray was headed to the IR, leaving him out of contention for a minimum of four weeks. Brissett was already slated to take the reins of Arizona's offense, so Gannon's announcement was ostensibly unnecessary.
Gannon added to the theatrics soon after, telling reporters he would've handed responsibilities to Brissett regardless if Murray was available in Week 10.
Couple that with Gannon's physical confrontation with Emari Demercado following the running back's fumble in Arizona's Week 5 loss to the Titans and it's clear all is not well in Arizona's camp. Rumors are rife linking Murray with a move away in the offseason. Could Gannon follow him?
At present, it's unclear whether Arizona's toils will cost him his job. The former Eagles defensive coordinator arrived in the Valley of the Sun with a glistening reputation, emerging as one of the sport's upstart defensive minds. While his reputation has likely taken somewhat of a hit across his loss-plagued years in Arizona, he still has age on his side. Vitally for Gannon, the man who hired him, Monti Ossenfort, remains in charge. That's not the case for Murray, who was given his big-money deal under an old regime.
MORE: Best trade fits, landing spots for Kyler Murray
All of that is to say that Gannon does have pressure to win, especially after starting the year 2-0. The Cardinals' late-game woes are a cause for a concern. But Gannon likely has a ready-made scapegoat in Murray, who appears destined to depart Arizona come the end of the year.
Gannon's seat is hot. But it's not quite scorching. At least not yet.
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