While many Arizona Cardinals fans lose their minds over the decision to have Nick Rallis return as the team’s defensive coordinator, it’s obvious new head coach Mike LaFleur paid more attention to what affected the Cardinals in 2025 than those fans did.
In an interview with Cardinals reporter Dani Sureck after being introduced to the media 10 days ago, LaFleur was asked the impression the team’s defense had on him after playing against them six times in the last three seasons.
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“We’ve had some rough days against this defense,” he said.
For those who are guffawing at that comment and have serious cases of collective amnesia, consider that the Rams scored a total of 23 points in the two 2024 games against the Cardinals.
As for the troubles last season, LaFleur addressed that when he said, “Just going back to this year (2025) because every year changes, when we played them the first time, I think it was Week 11, maybe Week 12 from an NFL season standpoint, but our 11th game. And I remember (quarterback) Matthew (Stafford) coming into me on that Tuesday saying this doesn’t look like their record. This looks like a really good defense because there are players there.”
Of course, as many understand but not those that reside in the coaches-are-bad bubble, LaFleur obviously did when he noted, “Unfortunately a lot of them weren’t out there, particularly in that back half of the season. So that’s my job and our job as a building to figure out how we can make sure that those best players are consistently out on the field.”
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Reality in the NFL is that game planning and in-game calls on both sides of the ball are based on what players are capable of and who is available. The facts are that during the 2025 season, 21 defensive players missed 161 games. Eleven were on a reserve list with an injury during the season. In the final nine games, 19 players missed 82 games. That can’t be ignored even though many people do.
As LaFleur said in a statement Friday, “Nick is someone I have always had great respect for, especially going against him in the division over the last three years. During the interview process, I expressed that he was someone I held in high regard and would be very interested in talking to about the position.
“I’ve had the chance to meet with him and pick his brain over the last couple weeks and am even more impressed than I was before. I know the respect he has from coaches around the league and especially with the players on this team and that says a lot to me.”
Even if the loud outside narrative believes they know more than those that watch hours and hours of tape while actually working and grinding in the sport.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Mike LaFleur realizes what the Arizona Cardinals experienced in 2025