The Arizona Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon on January 5. While things didn’t work out in Arizona for the first-time head coach, he’s getting a lot of interest across the NFL. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that Gannon has secured defensive coordinator and head coach interviews for the next week.
The defensive coordinator interest is rather evident, given his background on that side of the ball. Before getting hired by the Cardinals, Gannon was the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. He helped coach a strong defensive unit that took the Eagles to Super Bowl LVIII in Arizona. The two NFC East teams should be familiar with his work in Philadelphia.
His primary background came from coaching defensive backs with the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts beforehand.
It’s worth noting that Gannon is still getting head coach consideration, considering how badly his tenure in Arizona went. The Cardinals went 3-14 in 2025, the first 14-loss season in franchise history, and 15-36 overall. Perhaps the biggest insult of all was their inability to win within the division, with the team going 3-15 vs. the NFC West in the last three years.
It may also be because the Titans are looking for an experienced head coach. Rapoport’s colleague, Tom Pelissero, notes that Tennessee has lined up 16 interviews for its head coach vacancy. 13 of the 16 coaches have had prior experience.
Cardinals Reached Out to John Harbaugh
After being fired by the Baltimore Ravens, John Harbaugh will generate the most headlines in this coaching hiring cycle. Based on his strong track record in Baltimore, the Arizona media has urged the team to pursue the 63-year-old coach.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported an update on Harbaugh on January 12. Schefter listed five teams that the former Ravens coach has “conducted preliminary and extensive phone calls” with five teams, one of them being the Cardinals. Harbaugh is expected to land a head coaching job for 2026.
The likelihood that the Cardinals can seal the deal is low. They have questions at the quarterback position, which start with determining Kyler Murray’s future in Arizona. It also doesn’t help that the team went 1-11 after Murray was sidelined with a Lisfranc injury suffered in their loss to the Tennessee Titans.
The other question is how much the Cardinals are willing to pay to land a proven head coach. Harbaugh will command a contract that will pay more per year than what they’re giving Kliff Kingsbury and Jonathan Gannon combined ($12.5 million). He was making $17 million per year in the extension he signed with Baltimore last March.
Cardinals Target Division Rivals’ Coordinators
Over the week, two more names came into focus in the Cardinals’ head coach search. Arizona has requested interviews from both Los Angeles Rams coordinators, Mike LaFleur (offense) and Chris Shula (defense), per Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer.
LaFleur is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. He originally came up under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan in Cleveland, Atlanta, and San Francisco. He was Robert Saleh’s first offensive coordinator with the New York Jets. LaFleur joined the Rams in the same role in 2023.
Shula is the grandson of the late Don Shula. He joined the Rams in 2017 as an assistant linebackers coach before working his way up to the defensive coordinator role in 2024.
LaFleur and Shula are two more coaching candidates coming from within the division. The Cardinals are linked to at least one coaching candidate for their three division rivals.
- Rams: Mike LaFleur (OC) and Chris Shula (DC)
- 49ers: Robert Saleh (DC)
- Seahawks: Klint Kubiak (OC)
The team’s performance against the division was the sorest spot in Jonathan Gannon’s three-year tenure with the Cardinals. It certainly appears they’re going above and beyond to correct that.
Former Cardinals Head Coach Gaining Interest from Multiple NFL Teams