What the Numbers Say About Cardinals’ Coaching Search

What trends are notable when viewing the Arizona Cardinals coaching candidates?

Aug 16, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur reacts against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals promised to cast a wide net in their pursuit of a head coach following the firing of Jonathan Gannon.

So far, they've done just that.

The Cardinals are now up to ten names in their list of reported interview requests, as these are the following guys they're trying to get a look at:

Vance Joseph, Robert Saleh, Anthony Weaver, Patrick Brown, Raheem Morris, Klint Kubiak, Matt Nagy, Jeff Hafley, Chris Shula and Mike LaFleur.

With a vast group of candidates, let's break things down by the numbers:

The Age Old Question: Offense or Defense?

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh reacts after defeating the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The league is certainly trending towards offensive play-callers, though we've seen numerous teams embrace the tough/rigged defensive head coach approach.

Out of the ten coaches Arizona wants to interview, six are on the defensive side of the ball.

Offense: Kubiak, LaFleur, Brown, Nagy

Defense: Saleh, Shula, Joseph, Morris, Hafley, Weaver

Some candidates, like Morris, have extensive experience on the other side of the ball as most well-rounded coaches would like to have.

The Cardinals won't necessarily seek out one side of the ball out over the other, though many are hoping for a young innovative mind to fix a lot of the offensive issues that have plagued Arizona.

Speaking of age:

Cardinals Trending Towards Younger Candidates

Aug 25, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak pacing the sidelines against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The average age of an NFL head coach entering the 2025 season was roughly 48 years old.

Eight of Arizona's requested interviews are under that mark as of today:

1. Joseph (53 years old)
2. Morris (49)
3. Nagy (47)
4. Saleh (46)
5. Hafley (46)
6. Weaver (45)
7. Brown (39)
8. Shula (39)
9. Kubiak (38)
10. LaFleur (38)

Again, the Cardinals won't base a decision solely off this — though the hope is to get a guy who can potentially stick around for years to come.

Does Experience Matter?

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on the sideline against the New Orleans Saints in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After firing Gannon, many thought the Cardinals would gravitate towards an experienced head coach who could potentially lead a one-year turnaround in the desert.

However, only four of their current candidates have prior established experience as a head coach in the NFL in Saleh, Joseph, Morris and Nagy.

Hafley did coach in college and Brown did own interim duties at the pro level at one point, for what it's worth.

If Arizona opts to go with an inexperienced guy, the Cardinals could make it a priority to surround said coach with an experienced staff. Gannon failed to do so and many attribute some of his ultimate downfall to his inexperienced coordinators.

No Familiar Faces

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

In a coaching search, it's not uncommon for general managers to at least get some familiar faces in the building for interviews.

However, that's not really the case in Arizona.

Out of the ten requested candidates, only one has coaching/front office experience with general manager Monti Ossenfort.

That comes in Saleh, who was a defensive intern for the Houston Texans back in 2005 while Ossenfort was a scout for the organization.

Ossenfort spent plenty of time with the Patriots, so he might still know some people in their building for Brown's interview, though he never directly worked with him.

Joseph also interviewed for Arizona's head coach opening after 2022 when Ossenfort was first hired, but that's as far as prior history extends.

NFC West Love

Oct 19, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (left) congratulates linebacker Dee Winters (right) during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Seven of the ten coaches have prior experience coaching within the division, which could matter as Arizona went 0-6 in the NFC West this past season.

Out of the three coaches (Weaver, Nagy and Hafley) to not have recently donned a hot in the NFC West in recent years, Hafley did coach 49ers defensive backs from 2016-18 before leaving for other opportunities.

There's a ton of noise around the respective Shanahan/McVay coaching trees, and their respective track records don't lie. The Cardinals do seem to sipping some of that juice.