1 Coaching Candidate Who Could Save Anthony Campanile For Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have their fingers crossed for this candidate to land a top job.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile looks on during the first quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It seems all but official: the Jacksonville Jaguars are dangerously close to losing Anthony Campanile to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals have yet to hire Campanile, who is seemingly a finalist after a second interview this week, but it is hard to imagine he isn't one of their best candidates. With that in mind, it does appear there is a candidate who could get the Jaguars at least one more season with their star defensive coordinator.

Campanile and Cardinals

The Cardinals are the third team Campanile has interviewed with so far, but the other two (Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens) have hired their head coach already to this point. The Jaguars, though, know it only takes one team to fall for Campanile to make him an offer to be their head coach. And the Jaguars will badly be hoping it will instead be a different coach they offer.

As things stand today, it appears there is one coach the Jaguars should be pulling for if they hope to keep Campanile for 2026: Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Like the Browns with Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, LaFleur appears to be the reason the Cardinals have had a slow-moving head coach search to this point.

And there it is.

Cardinals waiting on LaFleur’s availability. https://t.co/TN288ER0T9

— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) January 24, 2026

If LaFleur was not a very serious candidate for the Cardinals, they would likely already be making their hire. They would not have to wait over the weekend, and strong chances are Campanile would be their next head coach. With that in mind, everything the Cardinals have done to this point suggests that LaFleur is the coach they are waiting on.

Perhaps LaFleur looks elsewhere; he could be a candidate with the Las Vegas Raiders as well since they gave him an interview and have seen several of their other candidates, such as Jeff Hafley and Jesse Minter, take jobs elsewhere. But if LaFleur sees the Cardinals as a match for the start of his head coaching journey, then the Jaguars will be the team that benefits the most from it.

May 28, 2025; Woodland Hills, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur watches during organized team activities at Rams Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Losing Campanile would be a genuinely massive blow to the Jaguars entering 2026. Not one they could not recover from, of course, but the ideal scenario for the Jaguars is clearly for anyone but Campanile to get the Cardinals job.

That is why over the next few days, the Jaguars will be big fans of a few coaches on the Los Angeles' sideline.

Jun 3, 2025; Woodland Hills, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur at press conference during organized team activities at Rams Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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