The Arizona Cardinals began 2025 training camp with so much hope. They knew that the NFC West Division was going to be good, and the franchise was prepared to fight the good fight.
The Los Angeles Rams
were previewed as one of the NFC’s best teams and expected to compete with the Philadelphia Eagles for conference supremacy.
RELATED: CARDINALS EMBARRASSED AT HOME BY 49ERS
Expectations were also high for the Seattle Seahawks, who had built a stiff defense. The jury was out on the San Francisco 49ers, who were really good two seasons ago, yet had issues last year. However, Robert Saleh had returned to be the defensive coordinator again, which had been their Achilles heel in 2024.
So, the Cardinals had their work cut out for them. These teams represented six games on the calendar. The season began with two wins followed by a five-game losing skid. Then, the Cardinals spanked the Dallas Cowboys on the road in Jarah’s World. Suddenly, Arizona fans began to rethink the season and have glimmers of hope.
Had the franchise turned a corner? Could they defeat division foes Seattle and San Fran in the next two weeks and make a run at this thing? Yes, they would need some help down the stretch with certain games going their way. But if this roster could string along some wins, maybe, just maybe, they could find themselves in sight of a Wild Card seed. Maybe?
But the illusion was short-lived.
Seattle took the Cardinals to the woodshed. So did the 49ers the following week. This means Arizona would end the 2025 season 0-2 against both clubs. All games are important, but division contests are paramount to achieving victory. This year’s team failed on both accounts.
The argument was that the Cardinals had the Niners in their first matchup, then gave the game away. The storyline was that Arizona had come from behind to tie the Seahawks in their first contest, then gave the game away.
The reality ultimately became: both Seattle and San Francisco are much better ballclubs. And to add salt to the wound, the Cardinals still have to play Los Angeles twice. Ouch.
So, now Arizona sits at 3-7-0. Every other team in the division has a winning record. They are the only club that doesn’t have a positive division record as the Cards are now 0-4. It is conceivable that all three divisional clubs could end up in the postseason.
Seven games remain. The Cardinals aren’t mathematically out – yet. But that’s just a matter of time. All of us who cover the franchise don’t want to admit all this. We all want to write about how this scenario could happen, or this set of teams would lose, how the team could recover and find their way into the promised land. But numbers don’t lie. And when your team is down 38-7 at the half against a division foe like the Seahawks, and then the following weekend behind 35-10 to another division club going into the fourth quarter, it is difficult to fudge the digits.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is currently in his third season. Under his tutelage, the team went 4-13-0 in his first season of 2023, then improved to 8-9-0 last year. Under a rebuild, this means an improvement from the previous year, right? Perhaps a minimum of a 10-win season? That is how rebuilding plans operate; the roster shows improvement each season. An NFL club needs a minimum of 10 wins to qualify for a Wild Card slot.
So, where’s our 10-win season? Anyone?
Despite being a two-win ballclub, beating the Cowboys was supposed to be the turn-the-corner game. We received two blowouts instead.
Has this begun the speculation that Gannon won’t be back for a fourth season?
In his post-game press conference after the embarrassing loss to San Fran, Gannon was asked if he was now a hot-seat conversation. He responded:
“Yeah, not a controllable for me. I didn’t hire myself. I’m not gonna fire myself, so, seriously, no, I know it comes up. That’s the business we’re in.”
The business that Gannon is in is professional football. And what keeps players, coaches, and executives employed is the ability to win games. Lots of games. Any team can be 3-7-0. Any team can finish with double-digit losses.
The difficulty is to string together wins and scrape and scrap into a playoff spot. This roster has very little of that. Except for the tight end, receivers aren’t being utilized. The offensive line appears like somebody hung a sign that says “free buffet today – see the quarterback for plates” as defenders are rushing past everyone. The defense is missing critical tackles. Except for DT Calais Campbell, where is the pass rush?
The offense in the first three quarters against the 49ers? Punt, TD, missed FG, field goal, punt, interception, punt, interception, fumble. A large portion of Arizona’s scoring came late in the final period when the game was already salted away.
The Cardinals’ defense in the first three quarters? TD, TD, punt, TD, punt, FG, FG, FG, TD. How can an offense maneuver on the field when they are down by so many points before the halftime gun sounds and going into the final period?
During the presser, Gannon continued:
“If you don’t want to be in that business, we laugh, we joke, go work somewhere else. I’m going to control the controllables for myself. You know, come to work and do the best job that I can and try to get our team in position and win a game.”
Gannon is currently under a five-year deal. He was the DC for the Eagles that had just lost the Super Bowl. He turned Philadelphia into a Top-10 defense in his first year, and in his second season, the Eagles ranked #2 in the NFL while boasting two Pro Bowlers.
Before Gannon arrived, Philly was allowing 26.1 points a game. That dissolved to 20.2 points. After 10 competitions, Arizona is now allowing 25.6 points per contest.
In 2022, the Eagles netted 78 sacks, or 4.59 per game on average. The Cardinals currently rank #25 with 19 sacks, or 1.9 sacks per contest.
Since reaching the 2015 NFC Championship Game, the Cardinals have made just one playoff appearance.
Out of all the head coaching positions in the NFL with a very bad record, Gannon’s is probably now the hottest seat in the league. There was so much anticipation and expectation going into training camp that this would become a playoff season.
Arizona is a franchise that doesn’t have an issue with letting head coaches seek other employment opportunities. No coach has made it longer than six years: Jim Hanifan (1980-1985) and Ken Whisenhunt (2007-2012).
The franchise has hired some really great head coaches, such as Curly Lambeau, Don Coryell, Bud Wilkinson, Jimmy Conzelman, Gene Stallings, Buddy Ryan, Dennie Green, and Bruce Arians.
For now, despite the chaos, it appears that Gannon will be safe to complete the season. If the Cardinals miss the postseason three out of three years under his direction, it would appear likely his time would cease in Tempe.
The decision has most likely already been made. A maintenance man was seen oiling the revolving door.
