The 2026 head coaching cycle will come to a close, but not until after the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur, the now former offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
LaFleur was one of two coordinators to be hired on Sunday, as the Las Vegas Raiders have unofficially agreed to a deal with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The NFL world has expressed its opinions on the hiring of LaFleur in Arizona, including some of the nation's biggest media outlets. What did they have to say about the hiring?
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ESPN: Graded hiring as a B-
ESPN sees the potential in LaFleur, but as we all know, he didn’t call plays when in Los Angeles. The outlet said the following about what they expect.
"There's a solid ceiling here, as LaFleur is from a prolific coaching tree. But it's hard to get too excited about what feels like a very run-of-the-mill hire."
Yahoo + CBS Sports: Graded hiring as a C
Yahoo was a little bit too harsh, as they gave the hiring a very low grade. The media outlet went on to bash LaFleur by saying that Arizona “wasn’t an attractive job.” Sure, Arizona waited a little long to decide on a head coach, but LaFleur is not a C grade by any means.
Bleacher Report: Graded hiring an A-
By far the most generous grade, Bleacher Report gave a solid grade, not because the hiring itself was good, as it was more about who Arizona was able to hire, considering how late in the game the front office was.
Different grades all across the table, so it will be interesting to see how everything pans out in the 2026 season for the Cardinals.