Could Mike LaFleur be the first coach to win 50 games for the Arizona Cardinals and stay employed longer than six seasons?
History tells us it’s unlikely.
Despite being the oldest continuously run professional football franchise in the United States, the Cardinals have had only three coaches win 40 or more games – Bruce Arians (49), Ken Whisenhunt (45) and Don Coryell (42) – and only three keep their jobs for at least six seasons – Whisenhunt (2007-12), Jim Hanifan (1980-85) and Jimmy Conzelman (1940-42 and 1946-48). No coach has lasted longer.
Of the 43 Cardinals coaches prior to LaFleur’s arrival, 28 of them (65 percent) lasted three years or fewer, including LaFleur’s predecessor, Jonathan Gannon, who went 15-36-0 from 2023-25.
The odds might
be stacked against LaFleur breaking the trend and emerging as a fixture for the franchise, but as he and the Cardinals prepare to open the 2026 regular season at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 13, let’s examine how it could happen and also how he might end up becoming just another statistic:
Reasons for optimism
The pedigree
At 39, LaFleur already has 12 years of coaching experience in the NFL, and it includes four years of working under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan as a passing game coordinator and the past three seasons under Rams head coach Sean McVay as offensive coordinator.
LaFleur also spent two seasons with Shanahan as an offensive assistant when Shanahan was offensive coordinator for the Falcons. Before joining the Rams in 2023, LaFleur served two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Jets.
His older brother is Packers coach Matt LaFleur, whose .654 winning percentage through seven seasons is third best among active NFL head coaches. The younger LaFleur has learned from some of the brightest offensive minds in the game, and in Arizona he has the chance to sprout his very own coaching tree.
Continuity within NFC West
Perhaps the Cardinals will take a cue from their successful division rivals and not only invest in LaFleur by giving their new coach what he needs but also stick with him by giving him the time he needs to turn the team around.
The 49ers and Rams have done that with Shanahan and McVay, who are each entering their 10th season with their respective clubs. McVay’s teams have reached the playoffs seven times in nine years; Shanahan’s teams have reached the playoffs five times, and they’ve each been to the Super Bowl twice.
Pete Carroll, meanwhile, coached the Seahawks for 14 consecutive years and also went to two Super Bowls until stepping down following the 2023 season. Mike Macdonald took over in 2024 and helped lead Seattle to a Super Bowl championship in just his second season. Now in Year 3, Macdonald has a strong amount of job security.
Young playmakers
In addition to his insight and innovation as an offensive play caller, LaFleur has the advantage of working with a handful of young, productive playmakers who can help his tenure show some promise.
It starts with the Cardinals’ All-Pro tight end, Trey McBride, who at 26 is already among the best in the league and is just getting started. If rookie running back Jeremiyah Love lives up to his hype as the third overall pick in the draft, things can only get better.
Throw in wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, and an offensive line anchored by left tackle Paris Johnson Jr., and Arizona has the foundation of a solid offense. If rookie quarterback Carson Beck develops and excels whenever he gets his turn to play, he would add another layer of excitement.
Reasons for concern
Not reaching the playoffs
Let’s face it, not very many coaches keep their jobs if they can’t guide their teams to the postseason. Arizona has made it to the playoffs just once in the past nine seasons and has won two playoff games since its run to the Super Bowl during the 2008 season.
In a league where teams often climb from worst to first, LaFleur and the Cardinals likely need some type of quick turnaround to change the narrative. It’s not an impossible ask, but it’s presumptuous considering they’re in the NFC West.
Nothing replaces wins, and it might be a stretch to assume LaFleur can earn a contract extension simply by guiding year-by-year improvement. It’s a results-based business, and as Cardinals coaches have learned throughout the years, it can be cutthroat.
Lack of franchise QB
It’s difficult to win or even stay relevant in the NFL without a franchise quarterback. Some teams have managed to win Super Bowls with an average QB who was more of a “game manager,” but those teams mostly won because they had a dominating defense.
At present, the Cardinals have neither. Veteran quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II are each in the last year of their contracts and there is no guarantee that Beck, Arizona’s third-round pick out of Miami, is going to get enough playing time for the team to consider him as its best option to be the starter in 2027.
If the Cardinals were to end up with a Top 5 pick in next year’s draft and use it to select a quarterback, which many industry insiders predict, there’s no telling whether the prospect will be a legitimate upgrade or even be fully ready to take over from Day 1. It’s all part of the big roll of the dice that could have a direct impact on LaFleur’s job status.
The GM factor
A big part of LaFleur’s future is likely out of his control.
Monti Ossenfort enters his fourth season as Cardinals general manager on the hot seat, given the team’s lack of a winning season and a series of free agency failures and speculative draft selections. It’s not a reach to suggest he could be replaced after this year.
A new GM could ultimately lead to a new head coach. It’s not an uncommon trend in the NFL, where the executive in charge doesn’t want to risk their future on a coach they didn’t hire. A new coach, fair or not, buys the general manager more time with the organization.
There’s also the 2027 draft to consider, and who is calling the shots. What if the GM, whoever it might be next year, misses on the quarterback selection or passes on a prospect who becomes a superstar? There’s also the matter of finding talent through free agency and keeping your leading players happy via contract extensions.
The conclusion
It’s way too early to tell
Unless things unravel at a remarkable rate, it’s unreasonable to assume team owner Michael Bidwill would fire LaFleur after just one or two seasons. I think he views LaFleur in the same light as most of us: The Cardinals have a bright young coach with the aptitude, drive and background to blossom into one of the better play callers in the game. On the surface, LaFleur should be safe for at least four, maybe five years. After that? It’s anyone’s guess.
It will be interesting if Bidwill’s patience gets tested because, like many owners, he has shown he isn’t afraid to cut bait with a coach and move on. Bidwill also often seeks advice from long-time NFL figureheads outside his organization, and his opinions can be swayed by others.
So keep that in mind if the situation starts heading south.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Mike LaFleur can become the Cardinals' greatest coach | Opinion
