The Arizona Cardinals formally introduced new head coach Mike LaFleur to the media on February 3.
“We’re super excited today to introduce Coach LaFleur,” said Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill.
General manager Monti Ossenfort conducted an extensive process to find the next Cardinals head coach. Ossenfort and Bidwill interviewed 17 coaching candidates before deciding on the former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator.
When taking the podium for the first time, the 38-year-old LaFleur could hardly contain his excitement.
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to be standing here,” said LaFleur. “I know it’s a thorough and detailed process that you guys had to go through, but you guys did it the right way.”
LaFleur shouted out Assistant GM Dave Sears, Assistant Director of Player Personnel Rob Kissel, Chief People Officer Shaun Mayo, and Senior Vice President of Media Relations Mark Dalton in his opening remarks.
How Mike LaFleur Became the Cardinals Head Coach
LaFleur revealed his first interview with the Cardinals was a Zoom call with Ossenfort. His second interview was more serious, as he dined with the team’s brass the week before his hire. It didn’t end with a head coach offer at the time, as Arizona wanted to interview Klint Kubiak again before making the final decision to hire LaFleur.
Except it almost didn’t happen. LaFleur reveals what happened the moment he was offered the Cardinals’ head coach position.
“I got a random number, and it said Phoenix, Arizona. I thought it was probably some media, so I didn’t answer. And I got a text about 20 seconds later, ‘Hi, it’s Michael Bidwill. Could you call me back?'”
As the story goes, LaFleur called Bidwill back and became the 45th-ever head coach of the Cardinals.
Why Mike LaFleur took the Cardinals Job
With the Palisades fire displacing the Rams, they stayed in Glendale. They hosted their home playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium. That experience sold the Cardinals as LaFleur’s preferred destination for his first head coach job.
LaFleur also mentioned how much Bidwill wants to win as a reason for taking the job. The Cardinals’ owner cited the team’s piling losses as the primary reason to move on from Jonathan Gannon.
“All you want is ownership to want to win, and want to win in the worst way. That was very apparent when I met Michael last year, how much he loves that organization. And just going through this process, why wouldn’t you?”
To bring success to the Cardinals, LaFleur will have to beat the NFC West. Arizona’s three division rivals won at least 12 games in 2025. The new Cardinals head coach embraced that challenge.
“It’s a tough division. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. We know the work we got in front of us.”
LaFleur has a long road ahead of him to bring the Cardinals back to respectability. Arizona went 3-14, including 0-6 against the division, in 2025. It will be imperative for LaFleur to show signs of improvement, in one form or another, in his first season on the job. However, it will be months before there are signs of progress.
New Cardinals Coach Mike LaFleur Sends Clear Message in First Official Statement