The Arizona Cardinals spent weeks circling the “Who will be our next head coach” answer, interviewing, re-interviewing, and watching other teams snatch up candidates. But sometimes the long way around still lands you exactly where you were meant to be. After Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak committed to the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona’s path finally cleared, and led straight to Mike LaFleur.
Fans Have To Wait To See Mike LaFleur’s Cardinals Play Matt LaFleur’s Packers
The hire also introduces an interesting development: two brothers, two head coaching jobs, as Matt LaFleur will be on the sideline for the Green Bay Packers. If you’re hoping for an immediate LaFleur-versus-Lafleur, though, the schedule has other plans.
The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals will not meet during the 2026 regular season, meaning the earliest possible head-to-head between Matt and Mike LaFleur might come in the 2026 postseason, a scenario that would need both teams to make it to the playoffs.
According to Fox reporter Greg Auman, the first guaranteed regular-season game is in 2027, when the Packers are scheduled to travel to Arizona. Auman also wrote that the Cardinals will face both Harbaugh brothers in 2026, with road games against John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens and Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers.
LaFleur is counted among the league’s most influential offensive minds. He came into the NFL in 2014 as an offensive intern with the Cleveland Browns, where Kyle Shanahan worked as offensive coordinator, and a young Mike McDaniel coached wide receivers.
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A year later, he followed Shanahan to Atlanta, working as an offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons, the only stop where he and his older brother shared the same staff.
From thereon, he spent four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers as Shanahan’s passing game coordinator. In 2021, he got his first opportunity as a play-calling offensive coordinator with the New York Jets under Robert Saleh.
When that chapter closed after the 2022 season, LaFleur ended up with the Rams, joining Sean McVay’s staff as a non-play-calling offensive coordinator. Though McVay retained control of the offense, LaFleur had an important part to play. Over the past three seasons, the Rams reached the playoffs each year and posted double-digit wins.
Los Angeles finished first in both points and yards in the 2025 season, leaning heavily on the collaborative vision LaFleur shared with McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford during a run to the NFC Championship Game. PFSN’s OFFi ranks the team first with a score of 92.3 and an A- grade for the year.
Arizona’s decision to hire LaFleur shows a philosophical shift. With general manager Monti Ossenfort, the Cardinals are moving away from the defensive-first approach of former head coach Jonathan Gannon and leaning fully into offense.
