TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jonathan Gannon's once-promising head coaching tenure with the Arizona Cardinals is done following a dismal third season that started with high expectations but quickly collapsed thanks to injuries, embarrassing gaffes and a long string of losses that became increasingly noncompetitive.
Now the franchise is preparing for a rebuild — again.
The Cardinals parted ways with Gannon on Monday, one day after a 37-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It was the team's ninth straight loss and 14th setback in 15 games.
“Jonathan is a very smart, motivated, enthusiastic, intelligent, awesome coach,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said. “He made us better. But — as you all know — this is a league about wins and losses.
“The wins and losses speak for themselves.”
Now a new coaching staff gets the chance to rebuild a franchise that will have the No. 3 overall pick in April, but has been to the playoffs just once since 2016.
General manager Monti Ossenfort will return and take the lead in selecting a new coach.
The 43-year-old Gannon finished his tenure with a 15-36 record, including 3-14 this season. Gannon expressed optimism in recent weeks that he would return for a fourth season, but Bidwill had other ideas, opting to look for the franchise's 13th head coach since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Ossenfort's job status was also in question coming into Monday, but Bidwill decided coaching was the main problem, not roster construction. The general manager said that didn't absolve him from taking some of the blame.
“We're all accountable for where we are and that starts with me,” Ossenfort said. “We all have to look in the mirror and figure out where we've gone wrong, what we can do better and how we proceed from here."
Pro Bowl tight end Trey McBride was one of many Cardinals players who voiced support for Gannon, but it wasn't enough to save his job. The 26-year-old McBride was one of the team's few bright spots this season, catching 126 passes, which was an NFL record for a tight end.
“It's a team game — there's a lot of things that went wrong," McBride said shortly before Gannon was fired. “You lose a couple close ones early and then just a little domino effect from there. Very frustrating season."
Gannon's dismissal is a development that seemed unlikely just a few months ago.
The Cardinals had an 8-9 record last year in his second season and the franchise appeared on the upswing. Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray was in his prime and Ossenfort spent much of the offseason upgrading the defense, adding veteran pieces like Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell.
Nothing went as planned.
Arizona actually won its first two games of the season, though that would prove to be the high point. The Cardinals lost the next five games by a combined 13 points, including three straight on last-second field goals.
As the losses piled high, so did the injuries. Starting running back James Conner missed most of the season with a foot injury while receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. — who was the No. 4 overall pick in 2024 — had an appendectomy and struggled with inconsistency even when healthy.
Murray hurt his foot in a Week 5 loss to the Titans and hasn’t played since, calling into question whether he’ll be the team’s quarterback in 2026 despite a $230.5 million, five-year contract that could run through 2028.
By Week 18, the Cardinals had 25 players on injured reserve or the non-football injury list, which was easily the most in the NFL.
Ossenfort shed little light on Murray's future with the team on Monday.
“As it pertains to Kyler, Kyler's under contract," Ossenfort said. "Jacoby (Brissett) is under contract. Kedon Slovis is under contract. We just came off the last game of the year. Less than 24 hours ago, we just left the field. There will be a time and a place for those discussions.
“When you come off a season like we've had, all options are on the table.”
There were also some embarrassing moments that added to Gannon's problems. Running back Emari Demercado dropped the football just short of a touchdown while celebrating too early against the Titans, which started a stunning collapse that saw a 21-9 lead turn into a 22-21 defeat.
Gannon was caught on camera angrily confronting Demercado, appearing to bump the running back as he swiped his arm downward. The Cardinals fined the coach $100,000 for his actions.
Arizona was also called for a franchise-record 17 penalties in a 41-22 loss to the 49ers in Week 11. The Cardinals were 0-6 against NFC West opponents this season, losing the last four by a combined 88 points.
Gannon was hired in 2023 after two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, who reached the Super Bowl during his final year before losing to the Chiefs.
Roughly three years later, the Cardinals are back on the hunt for a leader.
“None of us expected to be here today. We didn't,” Ossenfort said. “It's not just one thing. There's a lot of things we have to get moving in the right direction and that process starts today.”
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Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon speaks to reporters after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon walks on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
ADEN, YEMEN (AP) — A council fighting against Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday that it had expelled the leader of a separatist movement and charged him with treason after he reportedly declined to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks.
The latest upheaval in southern Yemen is revealing a growing divide among the Persian Gulf powers, cracking the coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis. Longstanding differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — from Sudan to energy policy — have spilled into Yemen, where they back rival factions. The rift has deepened strains between the two neighbors, who officially share the goal of countering the Houthis, in control of the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.
Uncertainty is also growing over the future of Yemen itself — a country strained by more than a decade of war in the Arab world’s poorest country.
A delegation of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, which had been backed by the United Arab Emirates, flew to the Saudi capital, where it was scheduled to attend a meeting to discuss the situation in Yemen's southern governorates.
But the STC said in a statement it lost contact with the delegation after it landed. It expressed “deep concern” over the matter.
The STC said leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi remained in Aden, the interim capital where the internationally recognized government is based. It also accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes in Yemen's al-Dhale governorate and causing casualties.
“While a senior STC delegation is in Saudi Arabia pursuing negotiations, the President remains in Aden to ensure security and stability," wrote Amr al-Bidh, an STC official focused on foreign affairs. “He will not abandon his people, and he will engage directly when conditions allow.”
The Presidential Leadership Council, or PLC, headed by Rashad al-Alimi, accused al-Zubaidi in a Facebook statement of “damaging the republic’s military, political and economic standing,” as well as “forming an armed gang and committing the murder of officers and soldiers of the armed forces."
More than 15 Saudi airstrikes overnight hit the al-Dhale governorate, targeting STC camps, according to STC leader Salah bin Laghir.
Meanwhile, two eyewitnesses, Hossam Mohsen and Mohamed Awlaqi, told The Associated Press that armored vehicles affiliated with the STC left Aden overnight heading to al-Dahle.
Other witnesses, Khaled Mathni and Abdallah Abeid, said they saw drones in the sky and flames rising as explosions shook neighborhoods in al-Dahle city and its surrounding areas. They said they believe a weapons warehouse was targeted.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the STC said it was “surprised” by the Saudi airstrike, adding that it marks a “regrettable escalation.”
“While the Southern Transitional Council condemns these unjustified airstrikes, it demands that the Saudi authorities immediately cease the bombing, guarantee the safety of its delegation in Riyadh, and enable it to communicate immediately, considering this a prerequisite for creating a positive atmosphere for any serious and meaningful dialogue,” the STC statement read.
The anti-Houthi leadership group, the PLC, formed in April 2022 after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemen’s internationally recognized government stepped down.
Its members have often pursued competing agendas and relied on different foreign backers, leaving the council fragmented and unable to mount a unified campaign against the Houthis — even after the United States and Israel launched bombing campaigns targeting the rebels.
An uneasy ceasefire between the combatants on the ground in Yemen held for years. But tensions flared again in late December over the STC's advances in the oil-rich governorates of Hadramout and Mahra, which were once held by Saudi-backed forces.
Maj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said Wednesday that al-Zubaidi, had been due to take a flight to Saudi Arabia with other council officials but did not join them.
“The legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that al-Zubaidi had moved a large force — including armored vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition,” al-Malki said. Al-Zubaidi “fled to an unknown location.”
“What is happening today in the southern governorates after the rebellion of Aidarus al-Zubaidi, and despite all the sincere efforts made by our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Presidential Leadership Council to prevent reaching this stage, is not what we wished to reach, and we are not happy with what has happened,” said Abdualla al-Alimi, vice President of the Presidential Leadership Council on X.
On Sunday, Saudi-backed forces spread across the port city of Mukalla, retaking the capital of Hadramout province following days of Saudi airstrikes.
Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.
Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula off East Africa, borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The war there has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
Khaled reported from Cairo, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
FILE - The president of the Yemen's Southern Transitional Council Aidarous Al-Zubaidi sits for an interview, Sept. 22, 2023, in New York, while attending the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level meeting of world leaders. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
