Why Cardinals’ Hire Of Mike Lafleur Is Wise

According to reports, the Arizona Cardinals have zeroed in on Mike LaFleur as the franchise’s next head coach. LaFleur spent the last few seasons as the non-playcalling offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.

Both of LA’s coordinators, including DC Chris Shula, drew head coaching attention this offseason in addition to pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. With LaFleur likely on his way out, the Rams will likely promote Scheelhaase to OC in order to keep another team from elevating him.

I said before the start of the offseason that LaFleur was always the better option for teams in search of a new leading man. It wouldn’t be a JB Scott post without a little victory lap. I’ll take a moment to pat myself on the back.

Three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and the Los Angeles Rams getting their coaching staff pilfered by other teams every offseason.

Defensive coordinator Chris Shula is set to be one of the hottest names on the NFL’s head coaching carousel at the season’s conclusion. Most of the buzz is media driven, of course. But to me the more attractive option instead is offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Here’s why.

I’d never hire a defensive head coach

Look at the massive advantage the Rams gained by pairing Sean McVay with Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford. When the head coach and quarterback marriage works, it can give your team a competitive edge for the next decade. There are other franchises that have captured this magic: Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs, Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love in Green Bay, Sean Payton and Bo Nix for the Broncos, and Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy in San Francisco just to name a few.

It’s difficult to build sustainable success in the NFL. If you can pair a long-term quarterback with a high-level offensive play caller, you can bring stability to your team for years to come.

On the other hand, life is difficult for defensive head coaches. You can hire a good OC, but they will jump at the first opportunity for a promotion.

What the hire means for Cardinals

While the media consensus towards the end of the season suggested that quarterback Kyler Murray was on his way out of Arizona, the coaching staff that started those rumors were fired. Murray is one of the most electric offensive players in the NFL, although he does struggle with consistent performance on routine plays. LaFleur may look at the quarterback landscape across the league this season and come to terms with the fact it will be difficult to find a more talented signal caller than Murray. He can at least give him a one-year test run and see if it’s a workable solution.

But the hire of LaFleur is about more than Murray. He’ll easily outlive Murray’s tenure with the Cardinals if things go south for the quarterback.

Arizona is drawing inspiration from the 49ers and Rams by pulling from the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree. There will be no shortage of offense in the NFC West for the foreseeable future.

The division dynamic includes the perfect dramatic foils. Mike MacDonald, who led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, is the defensive genius that spends his days finding ways to slow down offenses from this coaching tree. He’s proved successful against pretty much everyone but McVay, and LaFleur should bring the Rams’ secret recipe with him.

The Cardinals still aren’t good. We still need to give them credit for improving the overall quality of their roster. They still might be a year or two away from playoff contention; however, the state of the team is still much better than it was just a year or two ago.

Arizona easily could have hired Shula or tried to go with the trendy approach of emulating MacDonald and the Seahawks. Instead, they made the right move to shoot for a head coach and quarterback pairing that can promote long-term success, even with or without Murray.