Arizona

Cardinals

Williams signed on with the Chiefs as a coaching intern in 2019. He was the assistant to the head coach from 2020-2021 and spent 2022 as an offensive assistant. He became the offensive quality control coach and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023. Bringing Williams aboard as a young quarterback’s mentor could make a lot of sense for the Cardinals.

Merritt spent the last two seasons coaching running backs at the University of Miami. He previously worked for USF, Georgia Southern, Tennessee, James Madison, and Ohio State. Merritt also participated in two NFL coaching fellowships. The first was with the Bengals in 2016. The second was with the 49ers in 2019, where Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur then served as the passing game coordinator.

Vasso interviewed with Tennessee for their DC opening in January but didn’t get the job. Ariona also requested an interview with Giants OLBs coach Charlie Bullen for their DC job. Expect them to bring in a few more names over the next week. Vasso has been a position coach for the Texans since 2021.

Bullen took on the role of interim defensive coordinator for the Giants this year after they fired Shane Bowen. The team interviewed him for the permanent DC job after John Harbaugh signed on as head coach. While they ultimately went in a different direction, Bullen was retained by the new staff. Bullen previously served as a position coach for the Cardinals under Kliff Kingsbury.

The Dolphins tabbed Hackett as their quarterbacks coach earlier in the offseason. With the Cardinals offering him a better position, Hackett will instead join Mike LaFleur in Arizona. The two have never worked together directly, but Hackett spent three years under Matt LaFleur as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator. He also rejoined the Packers as a defensive analyst in 2025. Hackett has largely flamed out since his first stint in Green Bay. His offenses never finished better than 24th in scoring across two seasons as the Jets’ OC and one as the Broncos’ head coach. As long as LaFleur is the one calling plays, this hire shouldn’t be viewed too negatively, even if it’s clearly based on his familiarity with the system as opposed to his recent track record.

Brissett checks the boxes of “has worked for Frank Reich before” and “is a functional NFL quarterback.” The real question is: Why would the Cardinals give him up? He averaged 240.4 yards per start and threw 23 touchdowns in just 12 starts. Arizona has reportedly been more interested in moving on from Murray than Brissett, who GM Monti Ossenfort drafted in New England and made a priority to sign last offseason. We’d be surprised if the Jets could do this without getting fleeced by Arizona.

Hackett only just accepted the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach job in January, making this report an interesting one. The Cardinals just hired head coach Mike LaFleur, who is calling plays on offense. LaFleur is now gathering offensive coordinator candidates to interview, with Hackett in mix. The 46-year-old succeeded LaFleur as Jets offensive coordinator a few years ago and worked with Mike’s brother, Matt, in Green Bay. Hackett’s tenure as Dolphins quarterbacks coach may be over after mere days if LaFleur decides he is indeed the candidate for the job.

Martindale appeared to be heading towards getting the Jets defensive coordinator job earlier this offseason, but after Aaron Glenn decided he wanted to call plays the two sides went separate directions. Presumably Martindale would have play-calling authority in Arizona if he were the choice, as Mike LaFleur has zero defensive coaching experience.

LaFleur said he “missed it” during his three years as Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator and noted that “the worst playcall is a late playcall.” Stapled to an ineffective Zach Wilson early in his career, it’s hard to fully understand LaFleur’s upside as a playcaller at this point. It’s certainly possible he does better in Arizona than he did in New York.

Vasso also interviewed for the Titans DC job before it went to Gus Bradley. Breer adds Rams assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant is a possibility for the job. As one of the last teams to fill their head coaching vacancy, the Cardinals are going to be left trying to find up-and-comers for their coordinator positions.