Cardinals Coaching Search: Arizona’s Three Lead Candidates Include One Recently Fired Head Coach

The Cardinals have three candidates that stand out in their ongoing search, per The Athletic.

A report by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini indicates that the Cardinals are narrowing down their coaching search. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

As teams around the NFL move to fill their coaching vacancies, the Cardinals’ search is reportedly coming into focus.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Saturday that Arizona has identified three “lead candidates” to replace Jonathan Gannon, who was fired at the end of the Cardinals’ 3–14 season. Raheem Morris, who was fired after back-to-back 8–9 seasons leading the Falcons, is the most high-profile of the candidates, and is joined by Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile and Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.

Campanile and LaFleur would be first-time head coaches.

Raheem Morris previously served as Falcons and Buccaneers coach

Raheem Morris is reportedly in the mix for the Cardinals job, which would be his third as an NFL head coach. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The most experienced coach on the Cardinals’ reported list, Morris took over the Buccaneers for his first head coaching stint in 2009 after two years as defensive backs coach, ascending to the top job after Jon Gruden was fired. He went 17–31 in three seasons before being dismissed, missing the playoffs three times—including a 10–6 campaign in 2010.

After a three-year stop in Washington as DBs coach, Morris was hired by the Falcons’ Dan Quinn as assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator, later moving to coach on the offensive side of the ball before returning to defense in 2019 to coach the secondary once again. He became the defensive coordinator in 2020 and later interim coach after Quinn’s dismissal, going 4–7.

From there, Morris would work for three years under Sean McVay as Rams defensive coordinator, and then return to the Falcons in 2024 as head coach. He went 16–18 before being fired. Now, he could be on the verge of his third head coaching opportunity.

Anthony Campanile helped turn around the Jaguars defense under Liam Coen

The 43-year-old Campanile spent most of his coaching career working through the college ranks. The Rutgers grad and New Jersey native held multiple spots on the Scarlet Knights’ staff from 2012 to ‘15 after coaching at the vaunted high school program at Don Bosco Prep. From there, he moved on to Boston College (2016 to ‘18) and Michigan (‘19) before breaking into the NFL as Brian Flores’s linebackers coach with the Dolphins in 2020.

He remained on staff under Mike McDaniel until 2024, when he left to coach under Jeff Hafley with the Packers defense. Liam Coen hired Campanile as Jaguars defensive coordinator in ‘25, and his first full-time DC job proved fruitful for the franchise, which made a playoff run under the new coaching staff.

Campanile’s defense ranked sixth in the NFL in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), a measure of play-by-play team efficiency adjusted to opponent strength. Jacksonville ranked fourth in the NFL against the run. No NFL rusher managed more than 74 yards on the ground in a single game against the Jaguars, with the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor reaching that mark on 21 carries in a 36–19 Jacksonville win in December.

Mike LaFleur hopes to be the newest branch off of the Sean McVay tree

A name that should be very familiar to NFL fans, LaFleur is the 38-year-old younger brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who has been making his way through the NFL ranks over the last decade-plus.

After serving as FCS program Davidson’s offensive coordinator in 2013, LaFleur jumped to the NFL as an intern with the Browns the following year, later coaching alongside his brother and current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan (as well as the aforementioned Morris) with the Falcons as an offensive assistant. While his brother went to work for McVay with the Rams, Mike followed Shanahan to San Francisco in 2017, spending four years as passing game coordinator.

LaFleur had an ill-fated two-year stint as Jets offensive coordinator under Robert Saleh from 2021 to ‘22, and then took over the Rams OC job once held by his older brother in ‘23. The McVay tree has borne significant fruit despite the fact that the Rams coach just turned 40 on Saturday, with Zac Taylor (Bengals), Kevin O’Connell (Vikings) and Coen (Jaguars) all finding success after working in Los Angeles.

That tree could sprout a second LaFleur branch if Arizona opts to hire the Rams OC.

---