Whatever you might think of one of the more controversial NFL coach-player sideline interactions in recent memory, the irrefutable fact is in the end it’s going to be the coach who ends up paying for it.
The Arizona Cardinals fined head coach and former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon $100,000 for a fiery moment between himself and running back Emari Demercado in Week 5 during a game against the Tennessee Titans.
The viral video of the incident shows Gannon on Arizona’s sideline approaching, then yelling at Demercado after he let go of the ball right before crossing the goal line on what should have been a 72-yard touchdown run.
The encounter is punctuated by Gannon punching/pushing Demercado’s right arm as he walks way, or even possibly mimicking the act of trying to strip a football.
“I just told them, I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there,” Gannon said on Monday, October 6, before the fine came down the next day.
Demarcado’s Mistake Triggers Wild Comeback
The touchdown would have given the Cardinals a 28-6 lead over the Titans with 12:40 left in the fourth quarter.
Following Demercado’s blunder, Tennessee rallied for a 22-21 win.
Gannon becomes the first NFL head coach to be fined for an altercation with a player since the league fined then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians $50,000 for swiping his hand at safety Andrew Adams’ helmet during a January 2022 wild-card game against the Philadelphia Eagles,” ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss wrote on October 7.
Five games into his third season as Arizona’s head coach, Gannon has a 14-25 overall record and the loss dropped them to 2-3 in 2025.
Wildly Different Reactions To Gannon’s Punishment
The news of first Gannon’s apology then his fine seemed to overshadow one of the bigger in-game blunders you’ll ever see from Demercado.
“Sources: Cardinals are fining HC Jonathan Gannon $100,000 for his sideline altercation with RB Emari Demercado, who dropped the football before crossing the goal line Sunday on what would’ve been a 72-yard touchdown run,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account. “There will be no further discipline for Gannon.”
It also touched off a firestorm online over whether Gannon crossed the line or if his punishment was a result of a “softer” generation taking over the NFL.
“Michael Bidwill fining Jonathan Gannon for doing something that happens at every level of football from high school to the pros shows his ineptitude as an owner,” Cardinals reporter Alex Clancy wrote on X. “He thinks he’s doing the ‘right thing’ but he’s making a pseudo non-issue national news … Let’s not pretend Jonathan Gannon was the first head coach ever to rip a player on the sideline mid-game who made a huge mistake.”
Others put the fault on Gannon’s reaction to the blunder.
(Gannon) was dead wrong and he knows it,” former NFL All-Pro center and ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday said on “Get Up” on October 7. “You don’t put your hands on another man like that. You just don’t.”
“For those keeping score at home: Jonathan Gannon — Fined $100k by his team for being justifiably pissed at his player for putting himself over the team and making a cuttable offense,” Urinating Tree wrote on its official X account. “Emari Demercado — No consequences for his gross incompetence … Quite an organization the Cardinals have over there…
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