Cardinals Coach Apologizes After He Appears to Slap Player in Heated Sideline Argument

NEED TO KNOW

• Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon is apologizing
• In a heated moment after Emari Demercado celebrated too early and fumbled the ball, the coach appeared to slap the player along the sidelines
• “Everybody made some type of mistake yesterday, which is, you know, culminates to why we didn’t win the game,” Gannon said on Monday

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is apologizing after he lit into a player on the sidelines on Sunday.

In footage from moments after Emari Demercardo celebrated too early and fumbled the ball on what would have been a 72-yard touchdown, Gannon appears to angrily slap the Cardinals running back during the game on Sunday, Oct. 5.

I didn’t see the video, but yeah, I actually woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly," Gannon said, according to Pro Football Talk.com.

He added, “And so in a team meeting, I addressed it. I apologized to Emari, I apologized to the team. And I just told him I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there.”

He let the ball go too early! Touchback! 😮

TENvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/ZHxNItODj2

— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

After Demercado gave up the ball too early, Gannon is seen in the video walking by him and appearing to slap his arm — while his teammates console the TCU product.

The 42-year-old coach, who is in his second year leading the Cardinals, further elaborated on his mindset. 

“Obviously, I try to be emotionally stable and calm, because my job is to solve problems … during a game — and kind of lead the charge on that,” he said. “So it’s not really who I am, who I want to be, and I told the guys that today. So it’s a mistake by me, and it’s just like everybody in there.”

Had Demercado hung on to the ball, the Cardinals would have gone on to take a commanding 28-6 lead. Instead, the team went on to give up a 15-point lead over the Tennessee Titans and lose the game, 22-21.

Afterwards, the California native shared with reporters that he “made a mistake.”

"There’s really no excuse,” Demercado told assembled media following the game.

On Monday, Gannon shared that the third-year player won’t face any further repercussions.

“Everybody made some type of mistake yesterday, which is, you know, culminates to why we didn’t win the game,” he said. “And we can’t let it happen and move forward.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the Cardinals for comment.

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