The Arizona Cardinals have a major decision to make about general manager Monti Ossenfort. The NFL season is heading into its final stretch, and the GM hot seat conversation is heating up around the league. Ossenfort’s name belongs near the top of that list.

We covered the next potential NFL firings on the latest episode of 13 Personnel. Austin Stanley, Easton Freeze, and I worked through the executives who could be next after the Chris Ballard news. Stanley asked a simple question: Who is more likely to be let go, Ossenfort in Arizona or Saints GM Mickey Loomis in New Orleans? For me, it wasn’t close.

I’m admittedly the worst person to make this argument right now. Everybody knows my allegiance to the LA Rams, and the Cardinals just beat Los Angeles last week. Still, I think Ossenfort runs the show through the rest of the season.

After that, Arizona goes GM hunting this offseason.

The case against Monti Ossenfort

Loomis certainly isn’t safe. Saints owner Gayle Benson recently delivered a speech telling the fan base that the current state of things isn’t acceptable. Loomis should be listening.

Ossenfort’s situation feels more dire, though. Freeze summed it up best on the show: The rebuild has gone completely backwards since Ossenfort took over.

Run through the checklist for any rebuild, and Arizona comes up short nearly everywhere. The Cardinals have no clear path to a franchise quarterback. The defense is poor. Arizona is also already on its second head coach under Ossenfort, which throws every timeline out of whack.

Then there is the Marvin Harrison Jr. situation. Arizona traded away a top-five draft pick in just his third year, a player who was supposed to be a generational talent at wide receiver. The Cardinals did get a second-round pick back. That is still a tough return for a player taken that high.

A draft history that tells the story

The best way to judge a GM in the middle of a rebuild is to look at the foundational pieces he has added. That is where Ossenfort’s résumé starts to fall apart.

His first draft in 2023 opened with offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. as the 6th overall pick. That class also included cornerback Garrett Williams and wide receiver Michael Wilson.

The 2024 class was headlined by Harrison, who is already gone. Darius Robinson, Max Melton, and Trey Benson came along with him. In 2025, the Cardinals added Walter Nolen, Will Johnson, and Jordan Burch. The latest class includes running back Jeremiyah Love, who isn’t getting the majority of the snaps yet, and quarterback Carson Beck.

It’s an eclectic group, to say the least. Plenty of these names wouldn’t ring a bell for the average NFL fan.

We even turned it into a game on the show. Freeze asked where wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer, a sixth-round pick in 2024, played his college football. I’ll admit I didn’t remember him at all. The answer only came once the dragon logo gave away UAB.

That isn’t a knock on Palmer. It does show how few true cornerstone players have come out of Ossenfort’s drafts.

Why Arizona should go GM hunting

Cardinals fans were promised light at the end of the tunnel when this rebuild started. Three-plus draft classes later, it is hard to point to the core this roster is supposed to grow around.

A win over the Rams is nice. A strong finish might even quiet some of the noise for a few weeks. I just don’t think it will be enough to change where this is heading.

If you ask me, the Cardinals will be looking for a new general manager this offseason. We will see how the final stretch plays out, but Ossenfort’s seat is as hot as anyone’s in the league.