{"id":665424,"date":"2026-01-09T03:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T03:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/665424\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T03:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T03:36:15","slug":"cardinals-add-another-defensive-specialist-to-head-coach-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/665424\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals add another defensive specialist to head coach search"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Arizona Cardinals<\/a>\u2019 head coaching search has its newest \u2014 and perhaps most exciting \u2014 candidate.<\/p>\n

According to multiple reports, the Cardinals requested an interview with Packers<\/a> defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. The Falcons and Titans are also reportedly in the running for Hafley.<\/p>\n

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The Cardinals have now requested interviews with eight candidates.<\/p>\n

Of that group, five are defensive-minded: 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Broncos<\/a> defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Dolphins<\/a> defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and now Hafley.<\/p>\n

\"Oct<\/p>\n

Oct 20, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is shown before their game against the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman\/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

On the offensive side, the Cardinals have requested interviews with Seahawks<\/a> offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Patriots pass-game coordinator Thomas Brown.<\/p>\n

The Cardinals have reportedly scheduled interviews with Joseph, Weaver, Morris and Nagy.<\/p>\n

Among the eight names on the Cardinals\u2019 current list, Hafley stands out as a coach on the forefront of football\u2019s defensive evolution. The Packers defense out-performed its talent level to finish as a top-10 unit in 2024, although the production has been less consistent this season.<\/p>\n

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In a sense, hiring Hafley would follow the blueprint established by the Seahawks two years ago, when they hired Mike Macdonald. As a young, playcalling, defensive head coach, Macdonald has helped the Seahawks neutralize Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan \u2014 two of the league\u2019s best offensive minds, both of whom reside in the NFC West.<\/p>\n

Two other names to watch for in that regard are Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.<\/p>\n

While the recently fired Jonathan Gannon was also a defensive head coach, he did not call plays; instead handing that duty to defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.<\/p>\n

There are certainly risks associated with Hafley. He would need to nail his offensive coordinator hire to maximize a potential rookie quarterback, something he couldn\u2019t do as the head coach at Boston College, when he cycled through three offensive coordinators in four years.<\/p>\n

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But it\u2019s the type of high-upside risk that the Cardinals might need to reverse their fortunes in the NFL\u2019s most competitive division.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals add intriguing name to head coach search<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Arizona Cardinals\u2019 head coaching search has its newest \u2014 and perhaps most exciting \u2014 candidate. According to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[20990,375,390,2604,1327,2792,7,6496,8628,26822,2860,6,12611,2663,6957,2832],"class_list":{"0":"post-665424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-anthony-weaver","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-arizona-cardinals","11":"tag-arizonacardinals","12":"tag-cardinals","13":"tag-defensive-coordinator","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-head-coach","16":"tag-jeff-hafley","17":"tag-matt-nagy","18":"tag-mike-macdonald","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-offensive-coordinator","21":"tag-raheem-morris","22":"tag-the-cardinals","23":"tag-vance-joseph"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115863053522619008","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}