Cards fire after Gannon after historically bad 3-14 season
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Jonathan Gannon on Dec. 28. Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is out of a job the day after the team ended its dismal 3-14 season.
The big picture: The Cards' 14 losses were the most in franchise history, including its days in St. Louis and Chicago.
- The team has had three-win seasons before, but not since the NFL upped the regular season from 16 games to 17 in 2021.
- The Redbirds went 15-36 during Gannon's three-year tenure.
Catch up quick: Gannon signed a five-year deal with the Cards in 2023, shortly after he helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl as their defensive coordinator.
- The Cards posted a 4-13 record in his first year but showed flashes of promise as they went 8-9 in his second season.
Zoom out: Gannon was among three head coaches fired on Black Monday after the final Sunday of the NFL's regular season.
State of play: There was little to cheer about this year for the Cards, who went into the season with relatively low expectations.
- After opening with a pair of wins, the Cards ended with nine straight losses.
- The team suffered a slew of injuries, including to quarterback Kyler Murray, who bounced back last season from a 2022 ACL injury.
- Arizona led the league with 25 players on injured reserve, and heading into Sunday's loss to the L.A. Rams, the Cards had 42 players miss a combined 309 games due to injuries, per ESPN.
What we're watching: There's been a growing sense that Murray and the Cards would part ways in the offseason, though ESPN's Josh Weinfuss wrote on X that sentiment has shifted over the past few weeks and the team "could run it back with Murray in 2026."
What's next: The Cards have the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft.
- There's no consensus in the mock drafts, some of which have Arizona picking Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, Texas Tech linebacker David Bailey or Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
1 bright spot: Trey McBride set a new NFL record for receptions by a tight end in the Cards' second-to-last game, a loss to the Bengals.
- He ended the season with 126 receptions, second only to Rams star Puka Nacua.