Cardinals Eying Former Falcons Coach to Fill New Hole

The Arizona Cardinals need a new quarterbacks coach.

Aug 29, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Los Angeles Rams offensive assistant coach and Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow K.J. Black aka KJ Black poses during training camp at Cal Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals lost quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork to the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, and the search to find his replacement has already begun.

The Cardinals interviewed K.J. Black to replace Woolfork in the desert.

K.J. Black has interviewed for the quarterbacks coach job with the Arizona Cardinals, per source. He was last with the Falcons.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 5, 2026

Black, as Fowler alluded to, was an offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons the last two seasons. He was recently part of the Shrine Bowl's coaching staff.

The interview comes after Arizona reportedly blocked numerous requests for Woolfork before he parted for Baltimore. Now, the Cardinals have an opening to fill a coaching spot to work with players such as Jacoby Brissett and Kyler Murray currently on the roster at quarterback.

Black previously was with the Los Angeles Rams from 2022-23 helping coaching quarterbacks as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. Prior to his start in the NFL, he was at Florida A&M for two seasons.

He was a college quarterback at Western Kentucky and Prairie View A&M.

What Will Cardinals Do at Quarterback?

That's a major question that will have to be answered by anybody coaching the team, offense or position, as Murray could very well be on the way out.

Murray has spent the past seven seasons in Arizona, though the success of the former No. 1 overall pick simply isn't on par with what the Cardinals or Murray had expected.

The Cardinals, at Mike LaFleur's introductory press conference, wouldn't commit to Murray's future when asked multiple times.

"Touched base with Kyler two days ago when I got this [job] and had a good little message with him. Definitely touched base with him. I'll say this again, being in this division for seven years, it was never fun [to play him]" LaFleur said of Murray.

"I have a lot of respect for him as a player. I know he got drafted in 2019 ... A lot of respect for him as a player and he was never a fun challenge to go against," LaFleur said.

LaFleur, an offensive mind coming from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan tree, likely is aligned with general manager Monti Ossenfort and owner Michael Bidwill on what to do with Murray — though they're keeping that decision under wraps.

"We got to go back in the room and talk about all these positions, quarterback, the o-line to specialists, everything. It's our job for these players to build the best roster we can at each and every position," said LaFleur.