So much going on this week. New coach with Mike LaFleur, chance that Larry Fitzgerald goes into the Hall of Fame. There is a reason I had to delay the mailbag a day. But we press on. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Jason Hemby:
"You know what I really like about Mike LaFleur? His enthusiasm. I myself am an introvert and so by no means is this a shot at Kliff or JG, but Kliff and JG were both very cool customers. Both love football, and both are excellent football minds, but I know you heard the complaints that there wasn't enough visible emotion from them. I don't think that'll be the case with Mike, he seems to radiate energy and passion. Whether that means winning Cardinal football is TBD, but it was a great first impression. I was impressed he spoke at such length with little reliance on his notes (clearly a McVay brain, all the better). I'll tell you what Darren, I am quite happy today as a Cardinals fan."
I did think LaFleur's first impression was excellent. Authentic and yes, energetic. It was a good first day. You are right, there is much to prove. What I liked is that he wasn't making any grand pronouncements, but he clearly is confident. The first day is the first day. Tough not to feel good on the first day. But for what it was, it was a nice start.
From Keith C:
"Hey Darren. I think the Cards got the right guy in Mike LF. I know many think he was the consolation prize after Kubiak but that's rumor/speculation in my opinion. Your thoughts? And regarding coaches, do you expect a full purge (cue Paul's movie list here) or do you see some coaches sticking around? Let the hope and expectations begin!"
LaFleur said he wants to talk to coaches in the building before he builds his staff, so yes, I think there is a chance at some holdovers. Who that would be I have zero idea. Coordinators, to me, have to be next.
From John L:
"If Mike LaFleur was the guy, why didn't they just do this when he came in for the interview? Why wait? That's what I don't understand. I mean, I am fine with the hire, but the timing seems confusing."
Michael Bidwill made the point that not only did they want to talk to a lot of candidates, but they also benefit with talking to candidates from other teams to learn how other organizations operate. I don't doubt they had interest in Klint Kubiak, for instance, but regardless of whether he came or not, they were able to pick his brain about a division rival. As for LaFleur, if he truly felt like he would eventually be the Cardinals coach, waiting a few extra days wasn't gonna deter him.
From Matthew Stroh:
"Every OC is different so do you believe the style of our new head coach might help Kyler Murray? I do believe Drew Petzing is not a terrible OC but I know he changed a lot about how Kyler Murray played the game. With the success of Sam Darnold and other quarterbacks like him I think it would be smart to try everything in the team's power to help Kyler Murray succeed before he seeks success elsewhere. Does that make sense Darren?"
Let's be clear -- it's not like the Cardinals have not been trying to help Murray succeed. One can argue that it wasn't always the right way to go about it, but under both Kingsbury and Gannon, the idea was to have him play well in an offense. As for what happens with Kyler, we don't know yet what is going to happen. Mike LaFleur nor Monti Ossenfort have said what they want to do (and to be frank, I don't have any inside info whether they have even figured it out.)
From Will S:
"We have a new coach, but the same GM. In your experience, when these happen, do rosters tend to largely stay intact, or is it a full teardown either way? I think GM replacements usually result in more roster turnover. Now a 3-14 record will turn a roster over no matter what, but I suspiciously expect LaFleur's team to be made up of a lot of familiar faces. Let's not forget how many guys were on IR last year. Nobody wants to hear this, but our team is better than its record."
I don't see a full teardown, because Ossenfort is the one who built the roster and one of the things the Cardinals wanted to see was better development of the younger players and because I don't think Michael Bidwill has that kind of long-term timeline for turning it around. It's hard to tell some things because, yes LaFleur is in place but the staff isn't -- so, for instance, you don't know what kind of defense they are going to want to play. I do not see this being 2023 all over again.
From Ted Beck:
"Hey, Darren, two questions. I know we'll never know, but do you think if the Cardinals had not had the meltdown against the Titans and they had held on to win that game, that their season would have turned out differently? And please don't say, yeah, they would have finished 4-13 instead of 3-14. Do you think Coach Gannon's physical contact with Emari Demercado during the Tennessee game ultimately played any role in his dismissal? Thank you."
Ultimately, no, I don't think winning that game would have drastically changed the season. I think you could see the cracks in the team even when they beat the Saints and Panthers. They might not have had a top 10 pick, but I don't see them suddenly winning 10 games. And no, I don't think the Demercado incident played any role in the coaching change.
From Halsam Guresh:
"Are there any updates to the Cardinals Pro Bowl attendees? I know there was surprising news about some other 'Pro Bowl' players added due to the Super Bowl. We didn't have at least one deep alternate."
Josh Sweat was an alternate for the Cardinals but to get to the Pro Bowl, the Rams needed to make the Super Bowl and that did not happen.
From Travis K:
"Hey Darren, appreciate the content! I was chatting with my wife about the Cardinals coaching situation, and going through new coaches every few years. She said 'Why don't they see if Larry Fitzgerald would be interested?' That got me wondering about that. He is well loved and respected here, and his leadership qualities are undeniable. I think he'd command the locker room really well. Has Larry ever mentioned a desire to coach? Even as the WR coach or something? Just curious, and something fun to think about. Again, I appreciate your articles and insight! Take care!"
I don't think this would bring a chuckle to anyone faster than Fitz. He has no desire to coach. If anything he hopes to be an NFL owner one day. I could see him thinking about being a team president. But coaching? Nope.
From Scott Cline:
"Sending this question BEFORE the hire of Mike LaFleur. Super curious who the DC is (hopefully Raheem Morris? You'll know by now, future Darren). I'm happy with the hire. McVay has a really good coaching tree history, with multiple assistants going on to have success. I do have one concern. It sure seems like much of the Rams offense goes through Puka. If you don't have a Puka, does it all fall apart?"
Yes, I know it's not Morris, because he is going to the 49ers. We'll see who the DC ends up being. As for the offense, Puka Nacua is great. Yes. But so is Trey McBride. I think Michael Wilson showed he can pretty damn good. And I would expect this hire to benefit Marvin Harrison Jr. greatly. LaFleur can work with that just fine.
From Chris M:
"What's the plan for our quarterback situation?"
From Matthew Burruel:
"Is Arizona going to keep Kyler Murray as their quarterback?
Unknown right now, at least publicly. LaFleur wants to have conversations, with Monti Ossenfort, with the coaches he hires. Obviously the QB question is tops on the to-do list after he gets his coaches. I do not think we will have clarity on it for another month or so.
From Greg Painter:
"Hello Darren. I am going to rant over this until the draft happens! TRADE BACK! Are the Cards one player away! Build this team the right way in the trenches then add the skill players. A great O-line makes average QBs, RBs, and receivers good to great. A great defensive line makes everything easier for the back seven. It's like a house without a solid the foundation the house will have cracks and constant problems. TRADE BACK BUILD THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS FRANCHISE GOING FORWARD!"
Uh, OK? Trading back wouldn't happen until they are on the clock in April, so we can revisit in ... April?
The offensive line will be a priority this offseason I would guess. Where they get those guys, we will see. A free agent or two would change/could change draft thoughts. So again, April.
From Alan Nicols:
"I was in here probably four weeks ago discussing the draft, and my unshakeable conviction that we draft a tackle with our first pick. Well, my conviction was in fact shook, because after the National Championship game it was clear to me that our No. 1 target should be pass rusher Reuben Bain Jr. That guy is a menace. I imagine youre at least aware of our options at this point, and may have watched the Natty Championship yourself. Your opinion is allowed to change as time goes on. What is your current opinion on the No. 3 target?"
My opinion for No. 3 is that I certainly am not making any draft predictions before the Super Bowl. Can we please please at least get to the Scouting Combine first?
I would guess Bain has a chance to be in the mix. But this time of year, even the top of the draft can shift quite a bit (at least with how people see it from the outside. Because from the inside, I guarantee they aren't to that point yet.)
From Ray Martin:
"Your response last week about the new facilities not being opened until 2028. I was disappointed with the date since it was still two years out. I admit that I only saw new facilities were to be built and I am not local so do not see Phoenix news. I finally did some research and my disappointment was reduced. I did not realize the entire team facilities were moving. I was thinking a new weight room. Spending $130M on land & estimated $200M on facilities + our stadium indicates to me that ownership is trying to make the Cardinals an upper tier franchise. Now management needs to hit a home run on coach selection. Do you think they did?"
Have to be honest, Ray, I got whiplash with all the facility stuff and then you moving to the coach. I don't know how Mike LaFleur will turn out to be as coach. But I learned long ago that you don't really know. With him and with player acquisitions, I am very much a let-it-play-out kind of guy. Making snap judgements doesn't really make a difference. Regardless of what it thought now, it's always the results that will create the answer.
From Ryan C:
"I was just looking at the 2026 free agents list and it got me thinking, so I started reviewing some of the Cardinals past FA additions and losses. I went and checked in on some of our losses, and there are some notables. Were you surprised they didn't re-sign Byron Murphy and Zach Allen?"
In context at the time, I wasn't really surprised. Allen still hadn't totally broken out and frankly, he loved the idea of continuing to play with Vance Joseph. Murphy was maybe a little more of a surprise because everyone -- including him -- thought he was going to get a giant multi-year deal and in the end he had to sign for a one-year prove-it. At the time, Monti was doing a full teardown.
From Jeff Wallace:
"Hi Darren, I guess this has been asked, not sure, but my question pertains to AI. I assume the NFL is using it extensively and I hope the Cardinals are. It seems analyzing opponent's tendencies, developing play-calling and optimal schemes and player safety and development as well other areas could be enhanced significantly. Do you know if the Cardinals are maximizing this potential?"
Practice? You talkin' 'bout practice?
Sorry, I had to.
I do not know what levels the football side uses AI, but you are right, I am sure it is in use. Generally I don't love the idea of AI, because for all the good uses it can have I fear the many pitfalls (no, I'm not going all Skynet, but I do believe it will ultimately hurt us as a society.) But thanks for coming to my TED talk. Could it optimize football schemes? I don't see why not. The player safety issue is most intriguing, although as long as this game is played as it is with humans involved, there are going to be safety concerns.
From Danny Schrader:
"I imagine whenever big breaking Cardinals news hits on a your off day (in this case Sunday afternoon when Mike LaFleur was announced) that you just drop whatever you're doing and rush to the laptop to post the story. I'm curious if there are any memorable breaking-news events in your career where you had to depart a kids soccer game or excuse yourself from brunch with the in-laws? Duty calls, after all."
With the coach stuff last weekend, I was basically on call (and my wife was sick, so we weren't going to do anything anyway.) But there are a couple of times that spring to mind. In 2011 it was a Saturday in August after a long training camp in Flagstaff and I had planned an early birthday dinner for me with my whole family. News broke about 4 p.m. that Fitz was getting an extension and his press conference was going to be early evening. I was not thrilled. Dinner did not happen.
The other one was early 2013, when new hire Bruce Arians was getting the Coach of the Year award for his work with the Colts in 2012. I was an assistant coach for my kid's club team. I literally took a call on the bench from Arians, who was at the Super Bowl, during the game and had to find a quiet place to do the interview. Then I went back to finish the basketball game before writing a story.
