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The Cardinals have assembled their three coordinators for the 2026 season after retaining Nick Rallis (DC) and hiring Michael Ghobrial (STC).
The framework of the Arizona Cardinals‘ first coaching staff under new head coach Mike LaFleur is complete. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that the Cardinals will hire former New York Giants Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.
Ghobrial’s hiring means that the Cardinals have locked in all three of their coordinators for 2026.
Offensive Coordinator: Nathaniel Hackett
Defensive Coordinator: Nick Rallis
Special Teams Coordinator: Michael Ghobrial
Michael Ghobrial’s Coaching Resume
Ghobrial, 38, is a former UCLA defensive end who rose through the ranks as a special teams coach. He got his first NFL position with the Detroit Lions under the Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship program. After that first year in the NFL, he went back to college, serving as the Special Teams Coordinator for Hawaii and Washington State.
His first hire as an assistant came four seasons after his introduction to the NFL. The New York Jets hired Ghobrial as the Assistant Special Teams Coordinator, working under respected Special Teams Coordinator Brant Boyer. He spent three seasons with the Jets, where he crossed paths with LaFleur for the first time. LaFleur was the offensive coordinator under head coach Robert Saleh.
The Giants hired him as their lead coordinator in 2024, working under head coach Brian Daboll. However, the Giants pressed the reset button in 2025. After firing Daboll, New York quickly worked to bring in former Baltimore Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh into the fold. Harbaugh brought in Chris Horton to replace Ghobrial.
It didn’t take too long for Ghobrial to get consideration for another Special Teams Coordinator position. He was first linked to the Cardinals’ opening by ESPN’s Giants reporter Jordan Raanan on February 2.
Cardinals Complete All Coordinator Hires
Hackett is a long-time veteran offensive coordinator, having previously coached under Mike’s older brother, Matt LaFleur. He carries one year of head coach experience, although he was fired before completing his first season with the Denver Broncos. While Hackett has the offensive coordinator title, the play-calling duties will go to LaFleur.
Despite the Cardinals’ defense ranking poorly in the 2025 season, they made the surprising decision to retain Nick Rallis as defensive coordinator. Rallis will enter his fourth year as Arizona’s defensive play-caller. However, he will now do so as the lead man on the defense.
The 32-year-old Rallis has more pressure on him to get the defense to perform. With Jonathan Gannon out of the picture, there isn’t a defensive-minded head coach to shield him. The hope is that the previous three years have given him the necessary experience to run the defense.
With the Cardinals completing all their coordinator hires, that means the next step is filling out the position coaches. They’ve already addressed quarterback, running back, receivers, and offensive line. There will be more positions filled as LaFleur tries to have his staff in place by the start of the new league year on March 11.
The Cardinals are entering their most pivotal offseason since 2019. One of their biggest items will be deciding Kyler Murray’s fate. The clock on that decision is March 15, which is when his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed on his current contract. By then, the Cardinals will either need to trade or release Murray.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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