Why didn't Cardinals fire Gannon during season?
Mike Florio reacts to the Cardinals firing Jonathan Gannon, discussing the manner in which Arizona moved on and why the timing of the move reveals "dysfunction."
Video Transcript
Welcome to episode three of PFT PM just for today, January 5.
The first day after the conclusion of the 2025 regular season.
The latest development necessitating a PFT PM installment.
Something that felt inevitable throughout the latter stages of the season.
But then, as we got close to the end of the season, all the momentum was pushing against The termination of Coach Jonathan Gannon by the Arizona Cardinals.
I was expecting it to happen during the season.
They were in a full-out free fall.
Remember, they started 2-0.
Then they started losing games by just points.
All these close games.
There was that awkward moment against the Titans, where Emari Demercado got the, the, the shove and the, The physical contact from Coach Jonathan Gannon.
He was fined $100,000 by the team for that.
It just felt like as the losses continued, Because eventually they weren't close; they were blowouts.
They were one in 14.
Other than the Monday night win over the Cowboys, they didn't win a single game.
Following their 2-0 start, they had never lost 14 games in the entire history of the franchise, but as we got closer to the end of the season, All the signs were pointing to Gannon sticking around.
And we never know what an owner's gonna do until the owner does it.
Most owners are very discreet.
They're not telling people, "Hey, I'm gonna fire my coach when the season's over."
And I'm a firm believer once you've If you've decided to move on from the head coach, do it now.
Get a head start on the coaching search.
If Michael Bidwill, The owner of the Cardinals has known for a while that he's going to fire Jonathan Gannon.
The end of the season, just be done with it.
What's the point in playing it out when it keeps you from fully embracing the effort to find the right replacement?
But, alas, the happy birthday tweet kiss of death strikes again.
I'm burying the lede here.
Yesterday morning, The Cardinals tweeted, "Happy birthday, Jonathan Gannon."
We, We should have known.
We should have known.
And then people were pushing the video, and we talked about it on PFT Live.
Of Michael Bidwill, the owner, seeking out Jonathan Gannon.
This wasn't Bidwill's there, and Gannon walks by and they say hello and hug each other.
Bidwill made a beeline to Gannon and gave him a big hug.
Right?
Turns out that was Michael kissing Fredo.
That's what that was, because it's done the next day.
It's over.
I'm surprised only because we were collectively led to believe that they were going to give this another run.
The fact that Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort never got to find their own quarterback.
They were saddled with Kyler Murray.
Contract from day one.
That contract was negotiated before they got There.
The idea was, hey, let's at least try to find our own quarterback before you judge us.
We've been trying to navigate these waters with A guy that we wouldn't have wanted.
And I'm not, I'm not sure Michael Bidwill was in love with the idea of giving Kyler Murray the long-term contract, and Michael Bidwill is presumably behind the idea of moving on.
I guess there's a chance that the next coach will say, "No, no, no, no, no, I want Kyler Murray."
Small chance.
But it's not impossible.
He's still under contract.
It's still an option the next coach can pursue.
But the reality is there will be a next coach.
Of the Arizona Cardinals.
This one is just weird.
And hey, it falls into the category of dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things.
Because a properly functioning team would have fired Jonathan Gannon during the season.
A dysfunctional team creates the impression that we're not firing the guy.
We wish him happy birthday.
The owner seeks him out and gives him a big Fredo Corleone hug.
And then whacks him the next day.
That's what a dysfunctional team does.
And I always say it's impossible for rational minds to predict the behaviors of the Irrational.
The Cardinals are an irrational team.
I don't want to be too critical.
Ah, what the hell.
I'll be as critical as I need to be.
A normally functioning team doesn't do what the The Cardinals did.
A normally functioning team fires Jonathan.
Gannon during the season and starts its coaching search.
A dysfunctional team holds onto the guy, wishes him a happy birthday, Gives him a big hug, and then fires him the next day.
So, Cardinals, you know what needs to happen?
Your owner needs to be fired.
But as Jed York said after he had fired three coaches, "Oh," I'm sorry, they mutually parted with Harbaugh and then fired two coaches after that, Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly, you don't dismiss the owner.
That's the problem.
That is the scourge of every fan of every A dysfunctional team.
No matter what happens with the players, Coaches, GMs, executives, you're stuck with that owner until the owner sells the team or Moves on to that great luxury suite in the sky.
With that, Episode three of PFT PM for January 5 is over.
Until episode four, Enjoy your day.
