With the Cardinals hiring Mike LaFleur officially being in the past, it is time for him to officially start hiring a staff around him, especially before free agency kicks off in March.
LaFleur, 38, will not only have the opportunity to finally call plays, but also the chance to assemble his own staff around him. He wasted no time in making a big-time splash on his staff, as he managed to land a former NFL head coach.
The Cardinals and LaFleur hired former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator on Wednesday.
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Hackett, 46, saw his career take to the next level when he served as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021. He had the opportunity to coach Aaron Rodgers, and lead the Packers to three playoff appearances alongside head coach Matt LaFleur (Mike’s brother).
The success in Green Bay earned him his first head coaching gig, which was with the Denver Broncos, who at the time, had just traded for Russell Wilson.
Unfortunately for Hackett, after a terrible start to the season with so many expectations, the Broncos fired him before his first season even concluded.
In 2023, Hackett took the vacant offensive coordinator job with the New York Jets, reuniting him with Aaron Rodgers. Hackett spent two seasons with the Jets before rejoining Green Bay in 2025 as a defensive analyst.
Now, he joins a first time head coach in Mike LaFleur, with plenty of offensive weapons to work with in Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.
It’s difficult to predict how LaFleur’s first season in Arizona will go, but this is a good start for the franchise that looks to be a little more competitive this next year.