Arizona Cardinals bring in Mike LaFleur as head coach in attempt to change fortunes

[p]LaFleur replaces Jonathan Gannon, who was fired last month after the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arizona-cardinals/6guNl5qr/"]Cardinals[/a] finished 3-14, missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons.[/p][p]"[b]I couldn't be more fired up to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals[/b]," LaFleur said. "[b]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.[/b]"[/p][p]LaFleur, whose older brother is Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, had been the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-rams/z7hZioyR/"]Rams[/a] offensive coordinator for three seasons and called plays in his two seasons as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator.[/p][embed guid="08780302-4330-44a5-83eb-e5d123394009" url="https://x.com/AZCardinals/status/2018055504099152363?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]LaFleur, 39, becomes the 11th head coach for the Cardinals since their move from St. Louis to Arizona before the 1994 campaign.[/p][p]"[b]Mike has been around some of the best and brightest coaches in football and has been a key contributor to highly successful teams[/b]," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said. "[b]He understands what winning football looks like and what it takes to achieve it.[/b][/p][p]"[b]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.[/b]"[/p][p]LaFleur began his NFL coaching career under Kyle Shanahan in Cleveland and Atlanta before becoming Shanahan's passing game coordinator in San Francisco from 2017-2020 before joining the Jets.[/p][p]"[b]Mike LaFleur possesses all the traits necessary to lead this team to success,[/b]" Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell said. "[b]He's highly intelligent with an exceptionally sharp, creative football mind. Mike is also a dynamic and innovative leader.[/b]"[/p]