Mike LaFleur wasn’t hired as the Cardinals’ head coach until February 1, which meant he was behind most other head coaches in building his staff. But LaFleur thinks that might be a good thing.
LaFleur says it’s true that many good assistant coaches already had their 2026 jobs lined up at the time LaFleur started the process of looking for assistants, but he believes the late start gave him an opportunity to take a look at coaches he otherwise might not have considered.
“Every day in January and early February, guys are getting plucked off,” LaFleur said. “But there’s so many good coaches out there, so you just go through the process. You lose one but sometimes when you lose one it might be the best thing that ever happened because you end up finding the next one that’s a better fit for us. You learn some things about some guys you might not have interviewed. Challenges, but I can flip it and say it’s actually a good thing.”
LaFleur said he got the only offensive coordinator he ever wanted in Nathaniel Hackett, and that he took some time to get to know the Cardinals’ incumbent defensive coordinator, Nick Rallis, and decided he was the best coach for the job. LaFleur said he’s close to having his full staff hired. And it’s a staff he likes.
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