Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is a unique character. The 40-year-old took over in February after two seasons as the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia and is tasked with leading a bad NFL team through a significant rebuild.
Although Gannon may end up being exactly what the organization needs in the long term, the immediate outlook is pretty grim. Arizona is already 0-1 after a loss to Washington and there is not a lot of hope.
Meanwhile, Gannon has completely overhauled the culture from the previous regime and his team is trying to keep up. Cardinals players even said that the last six months have been complete “culture shock.”
It’s not hard to see why.
Kliff Kingsbury is pretty cool, calm and collected. On multiple occasions, we have seen that Gannon is quirky and marches to the beat of his own drum.
That includes his most recent to his fanbase, even if it was a decision that the team made on his behalf.
Arizona posted to social media on Wednesday evening ahead of its first home game of the year on Sunday. It quoted the head coach, but the quote could not have been any more demeaning.
Gannon told fans to be loud when the opponents on offense and to be quiet when the Cardinals are on offense. Seriously.
Considering that any fan with a brain literally everybody was already aware of how to act at a sporting event, the quote did not land well. NFL fans were quick to jump all over the team for its perplexing post.
The Arizona Cardinals got ratioed, hard.
How profound.
— Michael A. Lewis (@MichaelALewis73) September 14, 2023
Getting some strong Kendall Roy vibes pic.twitter.com/P6wh5QoNiS
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) September 13, 2023
Do cardinals fans not know this?
— Dan Baxter (@baxter4133) September 13, 2023
Doesnt it insult your fans to act like they don’t know this???
— HOT TAKES ANA 🏈 (@FootballGirlAna) September 13, 2023
— Hank🎱 (@hankyknowsball) September 13, 2023
Gannon’s pregame speech:
— Reasonable Takes (@ReasonableNFL) September 13, 2023
I want TOUCHDOWNS on offense and TURNOVERS on defense. pass the word along.
To pass the ball the quarterback has to throw it. Pass it along.
— Trill Self (@Jaminrawk) September 13, 2023
“I want the fans to cheer when we score and not cheer when the other team scores” – Jonathan Gannon
— Mo Benis (1-0) (@mo_benis) September 14, 2023
If you have to tell them, it might be time to relocate.
— Justin Reß (@jjheisman) September 14, 2023
If Cardinals fans actually needed this reminder, it says more about the fanbase than it does Jonathan Gannon or the social media team. Either way, to tell fans to be quiet on defense and loud on offense is quite hilarious. Arizona just can’t get out of its own way.