Cardinals coach appears to HIT his own player in shocking sideline fight after 'unacceptable' mistake

The head coach of the Arizona Cardinals couldn't contain his rage after a running back committed an unthinkable error which led to his team's stunning collapse.

Arizona has had horrific luck from the 'football gods' in 2025 as the injuries have started to pile up. That's especially the case for the running back room, where star James Conner has suffered a season-ending ailment while backup Trey Benson is out for multiple weeks due to a knee injury.

In their places, the Cardinals went with the tandem of veterans Michael Carter and Emari Demercado. While Demercado finished the day with the most rushing yards, it came with a massive asterisk that sent his head coach Jonathan Gannon flying off the handle.

Early in the fourth quarter, up 21-6 on the Tennessee Titans, Demercado took a handoff from his own 28-yard-line, found a seam, and had nothing but open space ahead of him for what should have been a 72-yard game-ending touchdown run.

Instead, replay officials found that Demercado began to celebrate too early by dropping the football before he crossed the goal line and into the end zone. The touchdown was overturned and the Titans got the ball from their own 20-yard-line.

After his brutal error, Gannon was seen storming toward the halfback, getting in his face and screaming at him.

At the end of his tirade, he appeared to hit or shove Demercado in some capacity before being pulled away by another coach.

Demercado's mistake opened a window for the formerly-winless Titans, who scored on three straight drives to win the game 22-21.

On the possession following Demercado's fumble, the Titans went down the field in six plays and scored a touchdown.

Then, Tennessee scored a touchdown in a truly bizarre matter as rookie quarterback Cam Ward threw an ill-advised pass which was intercepted. 

But Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson stumbled and fumbled the ball, which rolled into the end zone and was recovered by Titans receiver Tyler Lockett for a touchdown to make it a 21-19 game.

The Cardinals then punted the ball away on their final possession - giving the Titans plenty of time to slowly make their way down the field and set up a game-winning, 29-yard field goal from kicker Joey Slye.

After the defeat, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray reflected on the fumble, saying, '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.'

Gannon, in turn, described his team's performance as 'unacceptable' and encouraged his whole team to do better.

Arizona (2-3) will look to turn their fortunes around on the road against the Indianapolis Colts.