Emari Demercado’s Fumble Cost Cardinals the Game, but Jonathan Gannon’s Reaction Cost Him $100K

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon confronted running back Emari Demercado after his costly fumble.

Emari Demercado’s Fumble Cost Cardinals the Game, but Jonathan Gannon’s Reaction Cost Him $100K

Jonathan Gannon and Emari Demercado (Image via Barstool Sports/Around the NFL/X)

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The Arizona Cardinals usually do not enjoy the media coverage that other big-market teams receive in the NFL. Then, in Week 5, running back Emari Demercado and head coach Jonathan Gannon became people of interest.

It all started when the Cardinals were leading the Tennessee Titans 21-6 entering the 4th quarter. They had the ball in their hands, and all they had to do was march to another scoring position so that they could increase their chances of victory.

Over the next 2 minutes, quarterback Kyler Murray marched the team up 21 yards. On the 6th play of that drive, they switched to a run play, and Demercado took full advantage of an open hole to race up the field and cross the goal line.

That 72-yard run, however, was ruled a fumble after replays confirmed that the third year back, celebrating his first touchdown in nearly a year, tossed the ball before it crossed the line.

The Titans took advantage of that mishap and scored their first touchdown to reduce the deficit. Head coach Jonathan Gannon was furious with his running back and had a heated altercation, with some believing he might have struck the TCU alum.

That became a prickly matter, as fans and analysts believed the third year head coach was being too harsh. Soon, the Arizona Cardinals decided to address the matter and fined him $100,000 for his outburst.

This is a franchise-level punishment. The last time a head coach was fined for a similar incident, the NFL stepped in. It seems the league felt it was best to allow the Cardinals to address this on their own.

Jonathan Gannon apologized to Emari Demercado and the Cardinals

Emari Demercado’s fumble ended up costing the Arizona Cardinals the game they could have won easily. Jonathan Gannon was right to be angry, but many felt his reaction in public was unnecessary.

When the Cardinals opened their media session after practice, it happened to be the first question that was asked of the 42-year-old head coach. Knowing how this was going to be talked about, he said:

I woke up this morning, and didn’t feel great about it, honestly. So, in the team meeting, I addressed it. I apologized to Emari, I apologized to the team. I just told them I let the moment get the better of me there.

Jonathan Gannon replied

He then talked about how, as a head coach, it was his job to solve problems and that requires mental fortitude, which, at that moment, he did not possess.

Jonathan Gannon clarified that he did not watch the video of him reprimanding his running back, but felt his actions were unnecessary. He then suggested that the Cardinals lost the game because everyone made mistakes.

Super Bowl champion slams Jonathan Gannon for altercation with Emari Demercado

In the movie ‘Any Given Sunday’, Al Pacino talks about how the game of football is all about the inches a player can gain. That means there is no room for error.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon (Image via BR Gridiron/X)

When the running back committed a game-losing mistake, it was normal for him to be reprimanded. However, former Super Bowl champion Jeff Saturday believes the Cardinals’ head coach took it too far.

He was dead wrong, and he knows it… You don’t put your hands on another man. You can be upset, you can be frustrated, you can say what you got to say to him.

Jeff Saturday said on Get Up

The ESPN analyst then went on to say that he was content with the way Gannon addressed the issue, and he felt the Cardinals’ head coach’s apology was genuine.

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