Cardinals hiring of Sean McVay disciple Mike LaFleur as next HC may not yield immediate results in 2026 

Matt LaFleur has gone 76-40-1 in the regular season in seven seasons with the Packers and guided the team to NFC Championship Game appearances in 2019 and 2020. O'Connell, meanwhile, has a 43-25 regular-season record in three seasons with the Vikings. During the 2024 season, he won Coach of the Year.

Coen has coached just one season for Jacksonville, but he's off to an excellent start. In his first season, he was named a Coach of the Year finalist after the Jaguars went 13-4 and won the AFC South.  

The accomplishments of other McVay disciples will raise expectations for Mike LaFleur in his first season with the Cardinals. But it's worth noting he may be entering a much more difficult rebuild than his colleagues. 

Mike LaFleur may not flourish immediately with Cardinals

Arizona fired HC Jonathan Gannon — a former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator — after it went 3-14 in 2025. In three seasons with Gannon as HC, the Cardinals went 15-36. 

The struggling Cardinals also have no clear answer at the most important position. Arizona may move on from quarterback Kyler Murray this offseason after he missed 12 games because of a foot injury. In five starts in 2025, he went 2-3, completing 68.3% of his passes for 962 yards, six touchdown passes and three interceptions. 

The 2026 NFL Draft is viewed as thin at QB, so don't expect the Cardinals to find a Murray replacement there. That may force Mike LaFleur to roll with QB Jacoby Brissett — who went 1-11 and posted a below-average 41.1 QBR in 2025 — as his starter in 2026. That would make him miss Rams QB Matthew Stafford, who tossed a career-high 46 TD passes in the regular season in 2025, even more.

To make matters worse for the coach, the Cardinals are in the NFC West, perhaps the best division in the NFL. Three of the four teams (Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks) made the playoffs in 2025. The Seahawks are representing the NFC in Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California, at 6:30 p.m. ET NBC/Peacock). 

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has said he hopes the new coach turns the franchise around "in the first year, not in the second year" (via ESPN's Josh Weinfuss). He may not want to hear this, but he should exercise patience in Mike LaFleur's first season. Unlike other McVay assistants, he may get off to a slow start.