Mike LaFleur, younger brother to Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, is preparing for his own first opportunity as a head coach in the NFL. Hired by the Cardinals after the dismissal of now-Packers DC Jonathan Gannon (peak irony), LaFleur spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator for the Rams. Prior to that, he served in the same role with the Jets, a stint that ended in LaFleur’s firing after two years.
Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort, however, didn’t hold that failure against Lafleur in the hiring process. Instead, he trusts that Matt’s little brother will prove his mettle as Cardinals playcaller in a more advantageous environment – or at least a less cancerous one – than the chronic disaster in New Jersey.
Mike LaFleur’s Jets tenure not a negative in Cardinals’ eyes
With mastermind Sean McVay also on the sidelines, LaFleur did not in fact call plays for the Rams despite being OC. His Jets job represents his only experience running an offense. It’s a role the Cardinals will nonetheless trust him to take in his first year as a head coach.
Taking LaFleur’s rough go with the Jets wouldn’t be fair, Ossenfort suggested, calling it a “tough situation.”
“It was his first chance to call it full time, and I think that was a positive,” the GM continued. “Probably didn’t go the way Mike wanted it to go, but it was a learning experience and the way he talked us through that and what he gained from that and how he improved from that was something that we really looked on as something that’s beneficial.”
Of course, LaFleur won’t be entering lala land in Arizona, where the quarterback situation is in flux. The franchise has given every indication that it is prepared to move on from Kyler Murray, but who will take over in his place? Will the Cardinals run it back with Jacoby Brissett, a career journeyman? That worked for a while last year before fizzling out in a dismal finish to the season.
It’s not the Jets – few places are as bad as the Jets – but it’s not the Rams or the Packers, either. Big brother walked into a dream scenario taking over in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers and then Jordan Love at his disposal. For Mike, proving the Cardinals’ confidence right will start with choosing the right quarterback of the future.
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