A week removed from a heartbreaking NFC Championship Game loss to an NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams are also losing their offensive coordinator to a division adversary.
The Arizona Cardinals are hiring Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as their new head coach, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Sunday.
Arizona officially announced a five-year deal with LaFleur shortly after.
LaFleur, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, has been the Rams OC for the past three seasons under Sean McVay. With the hiring of LaFleur, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and the franchise are going in a starkly different direction than they were with LaFleur's predecessor Jonathan Gannon, who earned his stripes as a defensive coordinator.
LaFleur is the sixth head coaching product of McVay, following the Cincinnati Bengals' Zac Taylor, the Green Bay Packers' Matt LaFleur, former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, the Minnesota Vikings' Kevin O'Connell and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen.
Though McVay has been the Rams' play-caller, LaFleur played a vital role in the Rams' success over the past three seasons, which saw three straight playoff berths and double-digit-winning campaigns. McVay, LaFleur and quarterback Matthew Stafford were at the forefront of an L.A. offense that was first in points and yards in 2025 ahead of a run to the NFC title game.
Blessed with offensive talent such as Stafford, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Kyren Williams, LaFleur won't have such a starry roster to start with in Arizona. He inherits an arduous task of improving the Cardinals on both sides of the ball.
Arizona hasn't made the playoffs since 2021 -- also its last winning season. The Cardinals have not had a postseason victory since a 2015 NFC Championship Game run.
Last season's team went 3-14, finishing dead last in the NFC West -- a division that produced three playoff teams, each of them winning at least one postseason game, including LaFleur's Rams, of course.
Plenty of signs point to Kyler Murray having played his last down as the Cardinals' franchise quarterback and veteran Jacoby Brissett is unlikely a long-term starter. Still, there is young talent in tight end Trey McBride and offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
Defensively, the Cardinals were 29th in points allowed and Pro Bowl mainstay Budda Baker could be a candidate to move on with a $19.2 million cap hit in 2026.
Of promise and question are the Cardinals' flock of recent first-round picks: Marvin Harrison Jr., Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen. Robinson and Nolen have both struggled to get on the field due to injuries, while Harrison has failed to flourish as so many expected and also had injury issues last year.
The 38-year-old LaFleur is a youthful hire to helm a rebuilding Cardinals squad, but he boasts a wealth of experience.
He's had stints with the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers dating back to 2014. A product of the McVay-Kyle Shanahan offensive tree that's sprouted success throughout the league, LaFleur had a rocky first stint as an offensive coordinator with the New York Jets from 2021-2022. He rebounded phenomenally with the Rams these last three years. It's earned him a shot in the big chair, just like big bro Matt and his former bosses, McVay and Shanahan, who he'll get to oppose twice a year as he aims to build the Cards into a winner.
