As the Arizona Cardinals conclude the 2025 regular season with what will likely to be a team-record 14th defeat, the renewed aspirations of a top-five draft pick feel secondary to a franchise in complete disconnect with their fanbase.
Long gone is the trust that was previously earned by GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon. An impending 15-36 record will sour any fanbase, especially one that has been overwhelmingly patient during this post Steve Keim era. Upon their arrival, Ossenfort and Gannon hit all the right beats for a Cardinals franchise that had consistently cut corners. Gone were the days of paid meals by players and lackluster nutrition programs. Those boxes were easy to hit, yet credit for Ossenfort and Gannon for checking them. This new regime aimed to transform Arizona into a winner, not with splash, but rather substance via draft-and-develop.
The buy-in was immediate, and despite a 4-13 finish that predated this regime, fans were largely forgiving when Gannon and Ossenfort essentially matched what was Kliff Kingsbury’s worst professional season. Early on, this was a complete teardown where wins were secondary in place of aspects like culture and vibes.
And boy were the vibes good. Until they weren’t.
Tough Offseason Looms for Cardinals
As the Cardinals enter the most polarizing offseason since moving to the desert, they are once again asking fans to set aside the immediate hope of winning. Barring something unforeseen, both Ossenfort and Gannon will live to see another season. In a league where two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski could be made available by the Cleveland Browns, Ossenfort, Gannon and their .294 winning percentage are poised to run it back despite the presence of an established quarterback.
The Kyler Murray element is one that can’t be written off, yet far too many are making it a culprit for a club that’s somehow 5-19 in its last 24 games. As the calendar turns, I’d imagine we’ll begin to learn more about the midseason falling-out between Murray and the current brass. Whether it was due to a foot injury, clashes with play-calling or all of the above, the fact of the matter is this regime opted to roll with Murray for three consecutive offseasons without the slightest urge to upgrade.
I’m not knocking the move. I would have done the same thing. But what I wouldn’t do is use this season’s implosion as an opportunity to make Murray a scapegoat for a regime that’s won just three divisional games in three seasons. The former first overall pick has played ball while on injured reserve, with the expectations of starting over with another franchise next season. Yet for Cardinals fans, with this regime’s impending return, they themselves aren’t granted the same luxury.
Say what you want about Murray, but he at the very least provided the Valley with some semblance of hope and excitement when they tuned into Cardinal football over these past seven seasons.
Without Murray, Gannon has just two wins as head coach. Both against the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaking of JG, the likely decision to retain the third-year head coach will almost certainly test the remaining patience of the fanbase. If you don’t believe me, just take a quick gander at any Cardinals-related social media post. A fanbase that was previously divided over the presence of their sometimes polarizing quarterback have united in their strong desire for change at head coach.
Despite how this season has gone, I do believe Gannon is a good coach and a good man. His desire to win here remains authentic, even if it now comes off as disingenuous as the losses continue to stack. Regardless of what happens come NFL Black Monday, I believe Gannon did what he felt was best to turn Arizona around. I believe him when he says he doesn’t have any regrets. Ask around the NFL, and Gannon remains widely respected among his coaching peers. Perhaps it’s his undying loyalty to his staff: something that can be both commended and ridiculed.
But the fact of the matter is this is a business, and Gannon simply has not won enough games. With season ticket holders departing in droves, the Cardinals need to get back to selling hope, a near-impossible feat with the incumbent.
Last January, Gannon and the Cardinals had the opportunity to reexamine their staff following a 2-5 finish that was largely fueled by offensive inconsistencies. Instead of pivoting off playcaller Drew Petzing, who had struggled to develop a robust passing game behind Murray, Gannon only made subtle tweaks to his defensive staff. As division contenders Seattle and San Francisco were busy upgrading with heavy-hitters like Klint Kubiak and Robert Saleh, Gannon allowed perhaps his best overall coach in Klayton Adams to leave for a better title in Dallas. That left the already-thin-on-experience offensive staff now completely overwhelmed with the task of reloading the only prior constant:
The Cardinals’ run game.
It’s safe to say that the club’s inability to assess Adams’ importance to the offense may have sabotaged the season months before the first kickoff. Yet, as we sit here ahead of Week 18, with the Cardinals a putrid 3-13, Gannon has yet to make a staff change on the offensive side. Arizona currently ranks 25th in offensive DVOA, with Petzing primed to call plays in the team’s finale against the Rams.
It’s truly unprecedented for a coaching staff to remain unchanged at any of the three coordinator positions while sporting a record 20-plus games under .500. Perhaps it’s an indictment of who would take over play-calling, or maybe it’s simply overconfidence in their ability to correct. Regardless, it’s not working, and the season struggles from the offense have undoubtedly had a lingering effect on the team’s grossly-underperforming defense.
Gannon’s fondness for Petzing has now put his own position in jeopardy, with the consensus being that no coach should survive 14 losses in year three of a rebuild. It’s impossible to comprehend Cardinals fans being asked to instill blind faith for a regime that has produced so many embarrassing gaffes in one season.
From the inexcusable loss against the Titans, to setting the franchise record for most penalties in a game, the list of football follies is infinite. Gone are the Gannon-led Cardinals that fought hard despite the presence of inferior talent. Instead, they’ve been replaced with a group of players that appear to have their offseason travel booked, and are zombie-walking right to TSA. How else could you explain Gannon’s defense allowing the Bengals to complete a five-yard hitch-n-run to offensive lineman Cody Ford?
The Cardinals are the only team this season to allow 40-plus points in four or more games. I’ve lost count at the number of outings in which opposing coaching staffs have opted to pull starters. Yet those close to the team remain committed to the bit that Arizona’s season was sabotaged due to injury. Since their dominant home outing against the Jets in Week 10 of last season, the Cardinals have lost roughly four out of every five games they’ve played. Their last win on an NFL Sunday was September 14, a streak that is likely to stretch into the 2026 season (351 days).
The Cardinals have been a bad team for a long time. Did the injuries magnify it? Sure, but they didn’t cause it. This is who they’ve been for the large majority of this regime’s oversight — save for a now-outlier four-game winning streak last fall.
While Gannon is currently bearing the brunt of fan frustration, GM Monti Ossenfort remains M.I.A. for now. While his bevy of draft picks remain a mixed bag of underperformers and injury-plagued blue-chippers, a case can be made that Ossenfort’s free agency hauls have undercut the coaching staff. After essentially sitting out 2023, Ossenfort’s 2024 free agent class ranks up there with anything Keim did during draft weekend in terms of disaster. From Sean Murphy-Bunting, Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols (and who can forget DeeJay Dallas), Ossenfort went cheap in what ended up being Arizona’s best offseason to contend. Now he’s saddled with the task of flipping Murray for whatever he can fetch, while navigating an already-thin QB market.
The possibility of outright releasing Kyler Murray remains a strong one, per source. Which begs the question as to why the Cardinals would feel comfortable jet-setting Murray for a robust $47 million dead-cap hit, while at the same time balking at buying out both Kingsbury and Gannon’s contracts? According to CBS Sports Jonathan Jones, owner Michael Bidwill is not thrilled with the idea of paying three coaches at once. This report fuels the fire that is a raging fanbase that believes their favorite franchise does not care enough about winning. It’s hard to argue, especially when you consider the lengths the club has gone to push injury/quarterback narratives late this season.
As all eyes turn to Black Monday, it’s expected that Gannon will meet with the media for his typical “exit interview.” Over the next several weeks there will be coaching changes, most notably with the offense and Drew Petzing. Both Petzing and DC Nick Rallis have expiring contracts, so perhaps it’s fair to expect minimal fanfare with Petzing’s departure. I would imagine Rallis inks a deal that aligns him with Gannon’s contract, but that’s up for debate.
The question for ownership isn’t necessarily about who Gannon opts to bring in next as OC, but rather if they truly believe it’ll be enough to earn back the trust of an enraged fanbase. After January 5, there’s a long way to go until the club opens up training camp next July. The scars of a historically bad 3-14 season will undoubtedly cut too deep for any free agent transaction or draft pick to heal. Everything will come with an asterisk because ownership opted to ignore a fanbase that remained loyal, yet was burned one too many times.
A dangerous game indeed.
