Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon reveals regret after appearing to HIT his player in shocking sideline clash
Jonathan Gannon has revealed that he apologized to Emari Demercado after the Cardinals coach furiously confronted the running back over his shocking fumble.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Titans, with Arizona up 21-6, Demercado raced towards the end zone for what would have been a 72-yard, game-ending touchdown run.
But replays showed the running back celebrated too early and dropped the football before he crossed the goal line. The play was ruled a fumble out of the back of the end zone, which gave the Titans possession at their 20.
Tennessee went on to mount a stirring comeback and win 22-21. After Demercado’s brutal error, Gannon was seen storming toward his player, getting in his face and screaming at him.
A video, which went viral on social media, even appeared to show the coach hitting his player before he was pulled away by another coach.
And on Monday, Gannon admitted he made a ‘mistake’ with how he handled the incident. ‘I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly,’ he said.
‘So in the team meeting I addressed it, I apologized to Emari, apologized to the team. I just told them I let the moment of what happened get the better of me.’
Emari Demercado (31) fumbled the ball on the 1-yard-line while trying to celebrate a touchdown
Coach Jonathan Gannon (white hat) got in Demercado’s face and appeared to hit him
‘I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly,’ the Cardinals boss admitted
He added: ‘I try to be emotionally stable and calm because my job to solve problems during the game.
‘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.’
The Titans scored 16 unanswered points and snapped a 10-game losing streak dating back to last season. Gannon said Demercado would not face any punishment for his mistake.
The Cardinals (2-3) have now dropped three straight games, all on last-second field goals.
Gannon is in his third year leading Arizona, coming to the desert after two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
After the defeat, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray reflected on Demercado’s fumble, adding: ‘I know his character. I know his IQ of the game.
‘And never in a million years would I think that Emari would do that. But obviously, we all make mistakes. He’s going to take that on the chin. He understands that.’
