Since the players began putting on the Cardinals helmet in late July, coach Jonathan Gannon has spent nearly every day around his team.
On days like Monday, when the team is clearing out their lockers and exchanging goodbyes, the first-year head coach is reminded why he wanted to lead in the first place.
"(If) you've been in it long enough, you kind of know the calendar of the NFL season, but honestly, (I'm) a little sad," Gannon said. "Why I love this job the most is because of the players. Obviously, I enjoy other parts of the job, which will start today, but you miss seeing the players, being around the players, talking to the players."
It was a journey for Gannon and his team. By the time they got to the finale against the Seahawks, there was little resemblance to the team that played the Commanders in Week 1.
Gannon struggled at first to find a word to describe the season, eventually coming up with "competitive."
"This team loves to compete and on a daily basis,' Gannon said. "Not just on the practice field or the game field, but in meeting rooms and the weight room and the training room."
That's what the Cardinals were hoping, even with a young roster built by a rookie GM, led by a rookie head coach and rookie coordinators.
Gannon's inexperience didn't hinder the drive stemming from his players, even going as far to say that quarterback Kyler Murray is "the closest thing to me out there." In his eight games this season, Murray's game added a new element to the offense.
GM Monti Ossenfort brought in various pieces throughout the season that made an impact. With injuries, the door was opened for rookies to see a lot of action.
The Cardinals led the league with 11 different rookies that started games. Rookie right tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said he never hit the daunting "rookie wall." Instead, the first-round pick said when thinking back to the season, it reaffirmed his love for the game.
"I'm just going to continue to have fun and I think I'm starting to see myself continue to grow each game," Johnson said.
When he was claimed on waivers before the opening game in Washington, rookie tight end Elijah Higgins -- a college receiver -- didn't know what his role was going to be with a new club. But eventually, he had a solid spot as Trey McBride's No. 2.
"With it being your first year being in a specific position, a new position, you learn the technical side of things and what to do," Higgins said. "For me, it was really learning the why and understanding why I was doing certain things, why I was getting certain leverage on certain blocks.
"I would say the biggest challenge was getting to the point where I understand that I could do it. I always knew I was definitely willing to put my head down and get physical with things. I just didn't know if I was really capable of really doing it or not."
Higgins, and the Cardinals as a whole, proved that they could adapt to whatever is needed for the betterment of the team.
Just as quickly as this season flew by, the offseason will follow suit and the players will be back in the facility pretty soon. Until then, Gannon and the staff will look back at the tape throughout the season and make their evaluations.
They'll also look internally in hopes of improving in 2024.
"I'm pretty bottom line, so not good enough, truthfully, (we're) 4-13," Gannon said. "But what we set out to do to get ourselves operating in a way that I think is fit to win football games week in and week out, I think we did that. I think the players, the message, the standard, and the things that we talked about and hung our hat on, I think it got through and they kind of carried that throughout the year, but a lot of improvement needs to be made."
