Whose Time Is up in Arizona Once the Season Ends?
For the Arizona Cardinals, this season has been a dumpster fire. The Cardinals are currently sitting at the bottom of the NFC West division with three wins and seven losses. If they were to win all seven of their remaining games, they would be at 10 wins and seven losses. If that happens, they could potentially make the Wild Card game in the playoffs. Realistically, with the way the Cardinals have been playing, there seems to be no shot of that happening. The Cardinals have so many missing pieces on this team that it's hard to know who to point the finger at. At this point, it is clear that some people will not be staying with the organization. That doesn't mean everyone needs to leave, though.
Jacoby Brissett
Jacoby Brissett has played well enough to stay in Arizona. Last week, he broke the NFL record of most completions in a regular-season game with 47 completions. He has been playing great. Almost every time that he has started in Kyler Murray's absence, he has given the Cardinals a chance to win. However, if he wants to replace Kyler Murray at quarterback next season, he will need to do more than play well. He will need to win.
Jonathan Gannon
Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon seems safe to keep his job for next season. The main reason is that Cardinal fans have blamed offensive coordinator Drew Petzing for the Cardinals' offensive struggles. It seems Petzing will take the blame for the Cardinals' struggles and be fired if there is a coaching change. However, it also depends on how the season ends. If Jonathan Gannon finishes the season with five wins and no momentum, he could be fired as well.
Kyler Murray
By no means has Kyler Murray been playing well enough to keep his job. He has led the Cardinals to the playoffs once in seven seasons. It seems he has hit his ceiling and can't win games he should. The only thing that saves Kyler Murray is his contract. It would be a bad decision to release Kyler Murray because the Cardinals would be taking a $57.7 million dead cap hit if they released him before June 1st. If they released him after June 1st, the dead cap hit would be split between 2026 and 2027. There would be $50.5 million in 2026 and $7.2 million in 2027. It would not make sense to release Kyler Murray. Murray is also a talented quarterback with some promise, who can push Jacoby Brissett to work harder to keep the starting job.
This season has been terrible for the Cardinals. To rebuild correctly, though, they need to keep the pieces that have helped them. Jonathan Gannon, Kyler Murray, and Jacoby Brissett should be staying because the team is better with them. As for the rest of the team, everything is uncertain. When you lose so often, a lot of change can happen. If they can finish the season strong, maybe they can prevent firings. It depends on how they play.
