Most sports fans eventually end up on ESPN’s website. It is full of information, schedules, depth charts, breaking news, and league standings, no matter which sport holds the reader’s interest.
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THE HOTTEST “HOTSEAT”
After last weekend’s NFL games, ESPN began to discuss which coaches were on the hotseat, and others that has since jumped off this distinction. NFL insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano called their reliable sources for the latest news and buzz on key situations with an emphasis on potential coaching changes.
Among those discussed was Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns head man Kevin Stefanski, Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike McDaniels of the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn, and possibly Pete Carroll in his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
And obviously, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s name also came up.
Fowler gave his thoughts:
“Arizona’s Jonathan Gannon is also on the radar of people in the league who track such things, though opinions are split on whether Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill will take action. The Cardinals are clearly the odd team out in a loaded NFC West. Bidwill can’t be thrilled with that reality. But the notion of paying Gannon and Kyler Murray big money to go away (Murray has nearly $40 million in 2026 guarantees on the books) can’t be enticing, either. Gannon is 15-29 in the middle of Year 3, but he also hasn’t been able to hand-pick a young quarterback to groom.”
The Cardinals currently stand at 3-7-0 and in last place in the NFC West Division. In fact, they are the only club in the division without a winning record.
What is unusual about Fowler’s analysis is the line where Gannon “hasn’t been able to hand-pick a young quarterback to groom.” Gannon is a defensive mind. He inherited Murray, which on the surface would seem to be ideal, instead of a detriment. Gannon isn’t going to “groom” any quarterback, much less a newbie to the league. The fact that Murray was already a seasoned veteran with Pro Bowl hardware should have been seen as a huge plus.
If and when Gannon does draft a young quarterback, he will simply pass him off to Petzing for development.
Now, if Murray’s skillset has diminished since Gannon took over the franchise, that is a different matter. But having a veteran at QB should have been one less thing to work on for Gannon.
Next up, Graziano has his own analysis:
“The sense I get on that one is that Cardinals’ ownership seems likely to stick with Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort and let them pick that QB. (They inherited Murray.) The way Jacoby Brissett is performing in Drew Petzing’s offense gives the team reason to believe the structure is relatively sound and that more reliable QB play could unlock some things. Of course, as well as Brissett is playing, the Cardinals have still lost seven of their past eight games, and sometimes the record gets bad enough that the team feels it has to make a change.”
Okay, all of that makes sense. The thought process may be that Brissett will become the bridge quarterback, as Arizona will bring in a new guy through the NFL draft. Then again, the Cardinals just might extend Brissett and make him their franchise QB and use their high picks on getting the offensive line in good shape in order to better protect a 32-year-old signalcaller.
Would any Cardinals fan cry foul if Arizona took an offensive tackle followed by an offensive guard in the draft? Yes, there are plenty of holes on this roster, but the O-Line needs more than Band-Aids and to infuse some young blue-chippers.
Whatever the case may be about the Cardinals’ QB room, it is clear that Gannon has seven games remaining this season to display that he can deliver.
Remember: this is Year 3 of the three-year plan. Gannon is 15-29-0 overall.
