On top of everything else that went wrong as the Arizona Cardinals self-combusted at home against the Tennessee Titans this past weekend, the lingering image in many fans’ heads was a viral video in which Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon could be seen smacking his running back Emari Demercado’s arm after he fumbled the ball late in the game.
It was just one of many mistakes from the Cardinals as the team blew a 21-3 lead over the worst team in the NFL. However, Demercado broke one of the cardinal rules of football, dropping the ball before he crossed the plane on a 70-plus yard touchdown run that would have sealed Arizona’s win.
On the sideline after the play as his team’s meltdown continued, Gannon shouted in Demercado’s face and smacked the player as he stormed past him.
Addressing reporters on Monday, Gannon issued an emotional apology and took ownership for the “mistake.”
“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly. So at the team meeting, I addressed it,” Gannon said.
“I apologized to Emari, apologized to the team. And I just told them I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there. Obviously, I try to be emotionally stable and calm because my job is to solve problems during a game, and kind of lead the charge on that. So it’s not really who I am, who I want to be, and I told the guys that today. So it’s a mistake by me, and it’s just like everybody in there. Everybody made some type of mistake yesterday, which culminates into why we didn’t win the game, and we can’t let it happen going forward.”
“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it.”
Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon on his sideline interaction with Emari Demercado. JG says that’s “not who I am and who I want to be.” pic.twitter.com/Fu2T22rpcc
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) October 6, 2025
There certainly is more scrutiny on an NFL team in a tight spot than your average, run-of-the-mill Sunday matchup. As the Cardinals imploded, Gannon was bound to get attention no matter how he reacted.
Coaches clashing with players is relatively normal in the NFL, but Gannon took it to another level by making physical content with a third-year running back filling in for two injured starters. Demercado’s mistake was embarrassing, but it was hardly the only gaffe the Cardinals made on their way to a 22-21 loss at home.