Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals, well, they just could not win the close games this year.
Why is that? Great teams find ways to win. And since the Cards have 12 losses already, with just a few games remaining, nobody is pointing a finger at them as a great team. Or even a good team.
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Some folks would rather that owner Michael J. Bidwill just go ahead and let the head coach walk. No reason to wait for Black Monday, eh? Take the ax, find a stone to hone it, and strike. Nobody would be surprised at the action for a double-digit loss team. Nobody is crying in the corner or threatening to cancel their season tickets.
And absolutely, Gannon was hired away from the Philadelphia Eagles as one of those new trend coaches who are in the prime of their life and could become the next NFL Wonder Kid fresh off the Sean McVay lookalike coaching farm.
And Gannon came with a strategy: a three-year plan.
The first season under Gannon? 4-13-0. Year two? 8-9-0. Pretty standard for rebuilds, show improvement each season. So an uptick in 2025, complete with a playoff berth? But basically, a repeat of the first season. The “Oh, no. We suck again!” syndrome. Now, the team has lost 12 of the last 13 games, including seven in a row.
That would usually fall under the category of “Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.” Except it’s the head coach who is getting the pink slip.
Bidwill would pretty much be justified in his actions of giving Gannon the heave-ho. By the way, why do we say “heave-ho”? Absolutely makes no sense. Actually, it came from ships that had sails. It was a chant for sailors to synchronize pulling ropes for tasks like raising sails, nets, or heavy anchors.
There has been plenty of ink dedicated to letting Gannon go. And the narrative in these articles makes a lot of sense.
RELATED: SHOULD THE CARDINALS FIRE GANNON?
However, what if the Cardinals kept him instead? What reasons would they have to retain his services? Should the club give him at least one more year to prove this system actually works? What are the pros and cons?
Let’s discuss keeping Gannon. Grab a seat and one of those cold Dr. Peppers with blackberry, a Sonoran hot dog, and some Cheese Crisps. Now, fire away.
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Having completed 15 games already, Arizona has been close quite a bit, only to lose. It is aggravating.
Examine how close they came to beating some of the league’s best teams:
Week 3: was beating the San Francisco 49ers, only to lose 16-15
Week 4: had come back down against the Seattle Seahawks by two touchdowns and tied the game, then lost 23-20
Week 5: was killing the Tennessee Titans before the wheels came off, lost 22-21
Week 6: beating the Indianapolis Colts 24-17, going into the fourth quarter, lost 31-27
**Week...
