Cardinals Ignite Even More Debate With Latest Coaching Move

The Arizona Cardinals continue walking backwards in their search for an upgraded coaching staff.

Jul 29, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals are finalizing their coaching staff with just weeks remaining until the NFL's first major offseason event at the NFL scouting combine.

The Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur earlier this month but have struggled to bring on notable names to help the first-year coach in the desert.

Fans were in uproar over the hire of Nathaniel Hackett as the team's offensive coordinator, though Arizona's move to retain defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has sparked even more conversation.

On the latest episode of the Cardinals On SI podcast, we dissected the decision to keep Rallis on top of the NFLPA report card and other coaching news in the desert:

Podcast: What Are The Cardinals Doing?

Time stamps
1:46: Other Coaching Hires
7:44: Nick Rallis
25:47: NFLPA Report Cards

The news emerged late last night in a batch of reports from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. The Cardinals tried to interview multiple other candidates for their defensive coordinator gig with Rallis still under contract, including Aubrey Pleasant, Wink Martindale, Charlie Bullen and Karl Scott among others.

Retaining Rallis isn't the worst decision in the world. The players like and respect Rallis while he's familiar with the defense and does have years of play-calling experience under his belt — which seemed important for coordinators around a first-year head coach such as LaFleur.

However, it's more so the avenues the Cardinals took to land on Rallis. Arizona swung and missed on multiple names before essentially being forced to pivot back to their own defensive coordinator.

That was the same process the Cardinals used before ultimately hiring LaFleur — and more than anything, this offseason has shown the organization still has several strides to make before becoming a top destination.

As for the other coaching hires, most were surprised Justin Frye is set to stick around after a disappointing season in 2025 with the offensive line. Matt Schaub offers an updated perspective on NFL offenses for the quarterback position while Ghobrial and Moreland are still to be determined at their respective positions of special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

The NFLPA no longer being allowed to use report cards to reflect players' opinions on several different aspects for organizations is massively disappointing but unfortunately not a surprise, either. Billionaire owners didn't like being held responsible for their lack of investments and those report cards were a nice reality check across the league.

It's a shame those aren't being allowed to continue.