The Arizona Cardinals have hired Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their head coach, the team announced Sunday.
LaFleur, 38, has spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Rams, who led the NFL in points per game, yards per game, yards per play and expected points added per play in 2025. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was named first-team All-Pro and is the favorite to win the league’s MVP Award, and wide receiver Puka Nacua was a unanimous first-team All-Pro.
LaFleur replaces Jonathan Gannon, who was fired after a 15-36 record over three seasons with the Cardinals. The franchise has made the playoffs just six times since relocating to Arizona in 1988, and LaFleur will be its 12th full-time head coach in the desert. None of his predecessors has lasted more than six seasons, and only one (Bruce Arians) left with a winning record.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, taken with the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft and signed to a five-year, $230.5 million extension in 2022, spent most of the 2025 season on the bench. He injured one of his feet in Week 5, was replaced by veteran Jacoby Brissett and didn’t play again, eventually landing on injured reserve. Determining his future will be an immediate priority for LaFleur and general manager Monti Ossenfort.
In addition, Arizona’s offensive line needs an overhaul, and two of the team’s top young players, cornerback Garrett Williams (Achilles) and defensive tackle Walter Nolen III (knee), suffered injuries in December that could sideline them for significant parts of next season.
The younger brother of Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Mike has been around some of the sport’s top offensive minds, spending four years with the San Francisco 49ers (mostly as the passing game coordinator) under Kyle Shanahan and the past three seasons under Rams head coach Sean McVay.
In between, he spent two seasons as the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator, but he parted ways with the team after two subpar seasons. He has also worked for the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. Before starting his NFL coaching career, LaFleur spent five seasons as an offensive assistant for lower-level colleges.
The Rams offense was in the top 10 in most major offensive categories during LaFleur’s three-year tenure, including fifth in offensive points per game. They beat the Carolina Panthers in the wild-card round this season, then eliminated the Chicago Bears in the divisional round, with Stafford leading them on a game-winning drive in overtime.