Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort speaks to the press from the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe after the decision to fire head coach Jonathan Gannon on Jan. 5, 2026. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Cardinals GM Said on Mike LaFleur Hire

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Feb 2, 2026 6:00 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals move into the future with their biggest question of the offseason answered: Who will coach this football team?

Mike LaFleur accepted the job and hopes to turn things around in the desert sooner as opposed to later as a first-time head coach. Given his offensive prowess after spending numerous years under minds such as Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, there's excitement he could become the next big thing in the league.

Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort, in an official statement released by the team, is pretty amped to have his new head coach.

“In his career, Mike has been around some of the best and brightest coaches in football and has been a key contributor to highly successful teams. He understands what winning football looks like and what it takes to achieve it. Mike is a strong communicator with a detail-oriented teaching style that has always gotten the best from his players and we are incredibly excited for him to bring that to the Cardinals," Ossenfort said.

Owner Michael Bidwill added, "We had the opportunity to speak with an outstanding group of candidates during this very thorough process and gathered tremendous insight from each of them. At the end of that process, it was clear that Mike LaFleur possesses all the traits necessary to lead this team to success as its head coach. He is highly intelligent with an exceptionally sharp, creative football mind. Mike is also a dynamic and innovative leader and exactly the type of person we were looking for to guide our team as its head coach.”

LaFleur hopes to take an offense possessing names such as Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson to new heights in 2026.

"I couldn't be more fired up to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and am beyond grateful to Michael (Bidwill) and Monti (Ossenfort) for this opportunity. Having competed against them in the NFC so many times in recent years, I know the type of talent and toughness the team has and cannot wait to get to Arizona to hit the ground running," LaFleur said.

The Cardinals will officially introduce LaFleur as their next head coach on Tuesday at noon mountain standard time, where Cardinals On SI will be live on site to provide coverage.