The Cardinals fanbase and a lot of media outlets have expressed interest in hiring an offensive-minded guy to head the franchise instead of going with a coach to lead the defense. Currently, Arizona\u2019s defense is in pretty good shape and certainly needs a piece here and there, but a qualified DC could come in and set up shop rather quickly with the talent on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n
The Rams are in this year\u2019s NFC Championship Game. Last weekend, they defeated the #2 seed the Chicago Bears and had a great showing with the offense. No penalties, no turnovers, and had plenty of good drives which produced points.<\/p>\n
That is the result of LaFleur\u2019s efforts. But who is he? What are his qualifications?<\/p>\n
LaFleur grew up in the small town of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, nestled in the bullseye of Michigan\u2019s Lower Peninsula. To know Mike LaFleur, you have to be acquainted with his family.<\/p>\n
His parents are Kristi and Denny LaFleur. His father, Denny, played linebacker at Central Michigan, which won the D-2 National Championship in 1974, while his mother was one of the team\u2019s cheerleaders. Denny held the school\u2019s record for most career tackles.<\/p>\n
Denny then transitioned into teaching and became an assistant football coach for his alma mater. That lasted 20 years. Kristi was a physical education and health teacher who coached track and cheerleading. At Central Michigan, Denny had coached practically every position on defense. The couple has now been married for 51 years.<\/p>\n
Kristi\u2019s father, Bob Barringer, was also a football coach at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. So, football was more than just a sport in her family. Barringer just happened to be a Central Michigan fan. Kristi and Deeny got married in their senior year at CMU.<\/p>\n
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur walks out with his brother New York Jets Offensive Coordinator Mike LaFleur Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n Mike\u2019s brother is Matt, currently the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He played quarterback for most of his life and went to Western Michigan and then Saginaw Valley State. After going undrafted in the 2003 NFL draft, Matt signed with the Omaha Beef of the \u201cNational Indoor Football League.\u201d The following season, he played for the Billings Outlaws of the same league.<\/p>\n Growing up, brothers Matt and Mike, who is the younger sibling, competed in the AAU basketball circuit. But their lives were football with their dad as a coach and their mom coaching the cheer squad. Both brothers were great kids to coach because they had such an intensity about the way they played.<\/p>\n Both boys knew that one day they would also be football coaches.<\/p>\n Matt got in the door when his father called the new CMU head coach, Brian Kelly, and asked if he needed any grad assistants. There, he met another grad assistant, Robert Saleh, who is now the head coach of the Tennessee Titans after building up the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n When Matt became the OC with the Rams and Mike was hired as the 49ers WR coach, these two teams played each other twice a year both being NFC West Division members. Kristi LaFleur had a difficult time of which team to pull for when the two clubs met on the gridiron.<\/p>\n L to R: Kristi, Mike, Matt, Denny LaFleur. Notice Kristi and Denny are wearing their \u201cSan Angeles Ram-ers\u201d shirts<\/p>\n So, she devised a system. Kristi wore t-shirts she designed that appeared to be authentic NFL gear. The shirts read on the front, \u201cThe San Angeles Ram-ers.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike LaFleur was also a quarterback, but played three sports in high school. He then played football for Elmhurst University, located in nearby Illinois. In addition to playing quarterback, he would also line up at safety and was elected team captain.<\/p>\n After graduation, he became an offensive assistant with Elmhurst. The following year, he became the QB coach for St. Joseph\u2019s (IN) College and then was elevated to their OC for the following two seasons. In 2013, he accepted the OC position at Davidson, which was a D-1 school.<\/p>\n In 2014, he interviewed and was hired by the Cleveland Browns as an offensive coaching intern under Browns OC Kyle Shanahan. What was the connection with the Browns and Mike?<\/p>\n His brother Matt was then the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins and before that had been on the coaching staff of the Houston Texans. Both stints overlapped with when Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for those teams. Shanahan knew of Mike through his brother and felt they could have the same type of chemistry on the staff.<\/p>\n Suddenly, Mike was in the door of the NFL. When Shanahan left Cleveland the following year to become the OC with the Atlanta Falcons, Mike followed him as an offensive assistant for two seasons. In 2017, Shanahan was named head coach of the 49ers. As he was filling out his staff, he hired Mike as his passing game coordinator and WR coach. After two years, the franchise hired another guy to fill the WR coaching position so that Mike could focus solely on his duties as passing game coordinator.<\/p>\n![\"Green](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gettyimages-1234802645.jpg\"\/)
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