Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was remorseful about his heated interaction with running back Emari Demercado on the sideline after Demercado’s costly fumble out of the end zone on Sunday, Oct. 5, against Tennessee.

He apologized to the player and the team in a meeting on Monday, Oct. 6.

Instead of a 28-6 lead early in the fourth quarter, a lead that likely would have proved insurmountable for the Titans, Demercado’s 72-yard touchdown run was overturned to a touchback and turnover, and the Titans roared back into the game, eventually winning, 22-21, after other things went sideways for the Cardinals.

Gannon was caught on video shouting at Demercado, then appeared to make contact with him in a forceful way. He was asked about his reaction to the footage on Monday.

🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨🚨

Arizona #Cardinals head coach Jonathon Gannon appears to HIT running back Emari Demercado after he cost his team a touchdown:

😳

Have not seen a coach hit a player in many years — things got extremely heated.

WOW.

(🎥@MrAzSports)pic.twitter.com/ZOJvKf43Lg

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 6, 2025

Gannon said he didn’t see the video.

“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly,” Gannon said. “So in a team meeting, I addressed it. I apologized to the team. And I just told them that I kind of let the moment and what happened get the better of me there.”

Gannon said he tries to remain emotionally stable and calm in games, and “leads the charge” in being that way. But the video showed his demeanor changed in that instant with Demercado.

“It’s not really who I am, who I want to be and I told the guys that today,” Gannon said. “So it’s a mistake by me and it’s just like everybody in there. Everybody made some kind of mistake (Sunday), which culminated as to why we didn’t win the game, and we can’t let it happen moving forward.”

Demercado will not face any discipline or benching for the mistake, Gannon said. “Just the best thing for the team,” he said.

Cardinals’ final possession review

Gannon was asked about the Cardinals’ third-and-8 play call with 2:12 to play, and the team leading 21-19. Demercado was tackled for no gain, and the Cardinals had to punt the ball away after the two-minute warning.

Tennessee went on to drive for the game-winning field goal.

The play call drew boos from the crowd at State Farm Stadium, reacting to a conservative decision from offensive coordinator Drew Petzing in not trying something more aggressive in an effort to get a first down.

Gannon talked to Petzing about it.

“We’ve got to put our guys in a better spot there,” Gannon said. “We were expecting one thing (defensive look), they didn’t give it to us, I could have used a time out there, that’s something I coulda did a little bit better because I know he (Petzing) didn’t really love the call either.”

With the play clock ticking down, Gannon chose not to call a timeout and let the play call move forward.

“It’s a learning experience for myself,” Gannon said.

Asked if he can override Petzing on offensive play calls, Gannon said he would never do so because Petzing is the offensive playcaller.

Gannon reaffirmed his full support for his coaching staff and said he believes in everybody in the locker room, placing responsibility for the lack of execution on himself.

“Everything that goes on that field is my responsibility, so I’m never going to pass blame to anybody else,” he said. “It’s my fault.”

Higgins takes big picture view

Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins said after Sunday’s loss, the message to the Cardinals was about evaluating themselves as individuals, from walkthroughs to practice to on the field for a game.

“One of the biggest messages was to not freak out and just stick to the process, improve upon the process, reflect upon the process,” Higgins said, “and take it upon yourself to do what you can to do the right stuff more consistently.”

Higgins said he feels the team has done a good job of being resilient, and will have to do so again after a third straight bitter defeat on a field goal at the end of each game.

“It was a shock for a couple of hours after the game,” Higgins said. “Just had to put it to bed, go to sleep and then wake up the next day and obviously digest the film and move on from it.”

Lengthy injury report

Gannon had a lot of names on his injury report on Monday, starting with tight end Tip Reiman, who was carted off with an ankle injury on Sunday. Reiman will be placed on injured reserve and his season is over, Gannon said.

“He’s a guy that does everything right,” Higgins said of Reiman. “I want to carry the torch of what he represents for the offense, being a physical guy, being a mauler.”

Quarterback Kyler Murray has a foot injury from the game, but he returned after missing just a couple of plays.

Linebacker Cody Simon (knee) joins Murray as players who will be evaluated more later in the week.

Cornerback Will Johnson and offensive lineman Will Hernandez were on a limited snap count, though Johnson played 55 defensive (82 percent) snaps. Both players came out of the game with no aggravation of previous injuries.

There was no update on guard Evan Brown and defensive back Max Melton, who missed Sunday’s game but are working their way back to being available.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals’ Gannon apologizes for violently confronting Demercado