Cardinals Favorites to Add First Coach to New Staff

The first hire of the Mike LaFleur era could come on special teams.

Aug 14, 2025; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur reacts during a joint practice at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals move into the first official days of the Mike LaFleur era needing to quickly assemble a staff, and they're reportedly favorites to land a former New York Giants special teams coach.

From ESPN's Jordan Raanan:

"Former Giants ST coordinator Michael Ghobrial is a favorite to land with the Arizona Cardinals, per multiple sources. Ghobrial was the Giants ST coordinator for the past 2 seasons. Worked with new Cards coach Mike LaFleur previously with the Jets."

Former Giants ST coordinator Michael Ghobrial is a favorite to land with the Arizona Cardinals, per multiple sources.

Ghobrial was the Giants ST coordinator for the past 2 seasons. Worked with new Cards coach Mike LaFleur previously with the Jets.

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) February 2, 2026

Ghobrial was the Jets' assistant special teams coordinator for all two years LaFleur was in New York as their offensive coordinator before being fired. Ghobrial accepted a job as the Giants' special teams coordinator in 2024 but was not retained under new head coach John Harbaugh this offseason, being one of several coaches to be pushed out the door under their new regime.

Ghobrial appears to be the favorite to land in Arizona, where the Cardinals struggled largely on special teams this past season under former coordinator Jeff Rodgers, which was uncharacteristic considering that phase was typically consistent in prior years.

However, Rodgers took a lateral move to join Joe Brady's staff on the Buffalo Bills, after Arizona fired head coach Jonathan Gannon, leaving a vacancy open for the Cardinals to fill.

Arizona's also struggled to find a new defensive coordinator, as top names such as Raheem Morris, Anthony Weaver and Gus Bradley quickly have taken other openings since LaFleur was hired.

And while LaFleur plans on calling plays, he'll still likely need to fill the gap at offensive coordinator to help balance duties while he's a head coach.

Arizona has four weeks until the NFL scouting combine begins in Indianapolis while the free agency period will open shortly after that. The Cardinals need to move now and fill those gaps in order to get this offseason going after being the last team to find a head coach.

They're pretty confident in LaFleur, however.

“In his career, Mike has been around some of the best and brightest coaches in football and has been a key contributor to highly successful teams. He understands what winning football looks like and what it takes to achieve it. 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," general manager Monti Ossenfort said.

LaFleur will be officially introduced today as the team's new head coach.