The Arizona Cardinals are hiring Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to become their next head coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday.
LaFleur, 38, has served as the OC in Los Angeles over the last three seasons. He marked the fourth of Sean McVay’s offensive coordinators with the Rams to get a head coaching job elsewhere in the NFL.
The younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Mike LaFleur’s hire means that there are now two sibling duos in NFL head coaching roles, with John and Jim Harbaugh also fitting the criteria. It’s believed to be the first time in league history that has been the case.
PFSN evaluates and grades the Cardinals’ new hire.
Grading the Mike LaFleur Hire
The Rams’ success on offense with LaFleur as their offensive coordinator is obvious. In terms of PFSN’s Offense Impact Score, they finished first in the NFL by a considerable margin at 92.3. They were the No. 13 team by the metric in 2024, as well as seventh in 2023.
LaFleur has learned under some of the best coaches in the game. His tenure in Los Angeles speaks for itself. He was the passing game coordinator for the 49ers from 2017 to 2020, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel.
Coming out of 2025, the Cardinals find themselves with a bit of an identity crisis. Under former head coach Jonathan Gannon, they went 3-14 this past season. Most notably, they went 2-8 in one-score games. They have enough talent on their roster to be competitive, but their inability to finish in the clutch doomed them this season.
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Arizona will need to figure out its quarterback position, as Kyler Murray got benched midway through the season. Jacoby Brissett feels like a good choice to return as their stopgap starter, but the offense will eventually need to find a long-term option at the most important position in football.
Still, the Cardinals have some talented pieces on the roster. Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Marvin Harrison Jr. are strong weapons in the passing game, and they have other players like Paris Johnson Jr., Josh Sweat, Budda Baker, Will Johnson, and Walter Nolen to give them some firepower.
The reason for concern is that LaFleur is not only a first-time NFL head coach but also unproven as an offensive playcaller. McVay has handled offensive play-calling duties for much of his time as the Rams’ head coach, while LaFleur has managed the plays for just three games in his three seasons as their OC.
LaFleur is a pretty big gamble given how unproven he is, but he comes from arguably the most influential coaching tree in the NFL right now. The success that Matt LaFleur and Kevin O’Connell have had as head coaches, despite sitting in similar roles as OCs without play-calling responsibilities, bodes well for Arizona’s new head coach.
