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Josh Weinfuss
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals are hiring Mike LaFleur as their new head coach with the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator agreeing to a five-year contract, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
The Cardinals met with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak on Saturday night but he is expected to become the Raiders’ head coach after the Super Bowl, so Arizona pivoted to another offensive coordinator in the NFC West.
Arizona initially interviewed LaFleur virtually early in the cycle and then hosted him for a two-day interview, which included dinner with team executives, last Monday and Tuesday.
Matthew Stafford, who threw for the fourth-most passing yards of his career in an MVP-caliber season.
The Rams’ offense, under head coach Sean McVay’s guidance, was ranked first in points per game, total yards per game, total yards per play, passing yards per game and first downs per game.
LaFleur’s older brother, Matt, is the Green Bay Packers’ head coach.
LaFleur has a deep familiarity with the NFC West, having spent three seasons with the Rams and four seasons — 2017 to 2020 — with the San Francisco 49ers.
LaFleur inherits a Cardinals team that finished 3-14 last season, owns the third-overall pick and has a major question mark at quarterback. It’s still unknown whether Kyler Murray, Arizona’s incumbent starter, will remain on the team for the 2026 season, despite having $39.8 million already guaranteed for 2025. Should Murray remain on the roster on the fifth day of the 2026 league year, his $19.5 million base salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed.
LaFleur will be leading a team whose offense dropped off in 2025 to become the 19th-ranked unit in the league, a year after being ranked 11th. The Cardinals’ defense was ranked 27th last year after being ranked 21st in 2024.
Now LaFleur embarks on trying to complete a quick turnaround, which owner Michael Bidwill said he hoped takes place «in the first year, not in the second year,» in the vaunted NFC West, which had the three other teams all make the playoffs this year.
