Ravens Steal Highly Coveted Cardinals Offensive Coach

The Arizona Cardinals will need a new quarterbacks coach.

Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork talks to Clayton Tune (15) during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 25, 2024. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NFL's game of musical chairs continues with the Arizona Cardinals losing a coveted coach this week.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Baltimore Ravens are hiring Cardinals QB coach Israel Woolfork:

"Cardinals QB coach Israel Woolfork now will be the QB coach for the Ravens, per source. Woolfork interviewed for the Tampa OC job, and also was blocked several times from other openings, before being allowed to pursue other opportunities that resulted in him landing in Baltimore," Schefter posted on X.

Cardinals QB coach Israel Woolfork now will be the QB coach for the Ravens, per source. Woolfork interviewed for the Tampa OC job, and also was blocked several times from other openings, before being allowed to pursue other opportunities that resulted in him landing in Baltimore.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 5, 2026

It's notable the Cardinals tried blocking interviews for other openings, though according to NFL rules those must have been lateral moves as teams can't block upgrades in job title/promotions. Arizona must have coveted Woolfork's talents to try and at least retain him for the short term under new head coach Mike LaFleur.

Woolfork is part of a mass exodus of coaches departing after Jonathan Gannon was relieved of his duties as head coach back on Jan . 5. The Cardinals have since hired LaFleur as their new leader, which brings an anticipated amount of massive turnover to the staff.

Woolfork joins a new Ravens staff led by new head coach Jesse Minter and will work under offensive coordinator Declan Doyle.

Woolfork had close personal relationships with Kyler Murray and Jacoby Brissett through the 2025 season, a year where Arizona's offense ultimately finished first in passing attempts.

Woolfork was hired by Gannon to be the Cardinals' quarterbacks coach in 2023 and had been with the team since. He previously worked on the Cleveland Browns' staff as part of the league's coaching fellowship program, where he was on staff with soon-to-be Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing at the time.

Now, Woolfork heads to Baltimore and will work with one of the NFL's most exciting quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson — who is a two-time MVP and three-time first-team All-Pro. Perhaps his working experience with another mobile quarterback in Murray here in the desert made him an intriguing candidate for the job.

For Arizona, the Cardinals now look to fill another gap in a coaching staff that still needs largely assembled as we enter the first days of February.

"Yeah, We are casting a wide net," LaFleur said at his introductory press conference. "There's conversations that need to be had within this building, first with the coaches and all that. So we're going to be open to that, and again, we owe it to these players to build the best staff that we can for these guys."