The Arizona Cardinals will conduct their first set of joint practices this week under head coach Mike LaFleur. They’ll head to Green Bay to take on the Packers and Mike’s older brother, Matt.
Matt made remarks that circled social media on August 23. The Cardinals head coach was asked about that in his pre-practice presser on August 24. LaFleur said he learned of it minutes before and responded with a defiant “No comment” before dropping a wide grin.
This comes on the heels of joint practice fights between the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams, with both teams fined $500K for it. Given concerns about potential fights in practice, Matt LaFleur made this suggestion to the media.
“If there’s an issue, I’m going to tell the guys you come tag me in, they can tag in my brother, and we’ll throw down at the 50,” Matt LaFleur told the Green Bay Post-Gazette’s Ryan Wood.
The remark drew chuckles from the Packers beat.
Cardinals Head Coach Mike LaFleur Outlines Joint Practices vs. Packers
GettyThe Cardinals are set to host their first joint practices under head coach Mike LaFleur. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The joint practices will be an opportunity for Mike LaFleur and the Cardinals‘ coaching staff to evaluate their players against another team.
With their preseason game on Friday, August 28, it’s a short week for the Cardinals. They’ll have two days of joint practices ahead of their game against the Packers before the game.
Conducting these joint practices with another coach requires constant communication. LaFleur said “you’ve got to be on the same page,” which he believes will be easier since the other coach is his older brother, whom he talks to five times a day.
“That’s been good, being able to have access to his main assistants because you know him so well,” said Mike LaFleur. “Because you do want to send the same message to both teams. It’s joint practices; flip a coin on what could happen sometimes.
“The main thing is we’re going in to work. No doubt it’s a more amped up environment because you’re going up against a different opponent. It’s time for our guys to hit somebody else. It’ll be good.”
LaFleur Sibling Rivalry Extends to NFL Head Coaching Careers
GettyMatt (Packers) and Mike LaFleur (Cardinals) will hold their first joint practice as NFL head coaches. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
Since Mike LaFleur has been introduced as the Cardinals’ head coach, Matt LaFleur has given him the younger brother treatment.
Matt attended Mike’s introductory press conference in February. The brothers had a phone call to share some friendly banter, which was broadcast on NBC, before Mike’s coaching debut in the NFL Hall of Fame Game on August 6.
This week will mark the first time the two brothers share a practice or game as NFL head coaches. Matt LaFleur seems interested in making the story about the two of them, while Mike is more focused on getting through the practices.
It seems unlikely that the coaches will square off at the 50, but it would be quite the event if they did. Mike LaFleur sidestepped any possibility of that, repeating, “We’ll see what happens,” and citing the sanctions that the Cowboys and Rams got from the league two weeks ago.
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