Texans defensive backs coach Dino Vasso is a candidate to become the defensive coordinator in Arizona.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals have requested an interview with Vasso. There was also word of interview requests on Wednesday for Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen and Rams assistant head coach/defensive pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant.
The Titans spoke to Vasso about their coordinator job after hiring Robert Saleh, but they opted to go with Gus Bradley for that role.
Vasso has been in his current job since the 2024 season and he was the cornerbacks coach in Houston for the previous three seasons. He has also worked for the Eagles and Chiefs.
The Cardinals hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new offensive coordinator. Their search for a defensive coordinator continues.
The team has requested to interview Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen and Aubrey Pleasant, the Rams assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator, NFL Media reports.
Pleasant was a candidate for the Chargers’ defensive coordinator job.
He has spent the past three seasons with the Rams, on the staff with new Cardinals’ head coach Mike LaFleur.
Pleasant has coached in the NFL for the past 13 seasons, also spending time in Washington, Cleveland, Detroit and Green Bay.
Bullen served as the Giants’ interim defensive coordinator last season after the team fired coordinator Shane Bowen. New coach John Harbaugh retained Bullen as the outside linebackers coach.
Bullen previously coached in Arizona from 2019-22. He was with the Dolphins from 2012-18.
There was word last week that Nathaniel Hackett would be joining the Dolphins’ staff as their quarterbacks coach, but Miami is going to have to look in a different direction.
According to multiple reports, Hackett will instead be the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals. Hackett has a number of connections to Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur.
Hackett worked as the Packers’ offensive coordinator under LaFleur’s brother Matt from 2019-2021. He moved on to a 15-game stint as the Broncos’ head coach in 2022 and then joined the Jets as their offensive coordinator for the next two seasons.
That job was available because Mike LaFleur was fired after two years running the offense on Robert Saleh’s staff. Hackett returned to Green Bay to serve as a defensive analyst for the 2025 season.
Hackett has also worked as an offensive coordinator for the Jaguars and Bills during his time in the NFL.
Mike LaFleur is the new head coach in Arizona, but he’s not new to life in the NFC West.
LaFleur spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Rams, so he’s very familiar with what he’ll be up against as he takes over in Arizona. The Seahawks and Rams played in the NFC Championship Game while the 49ers got knocked out of the playoffs in the divisional round, which leaves the Cardinals as the division’s only team to fall short of the postseason.
Their 3-14 record left them well short of qualifying for the tournament and they’ve only qualified once in the last 10 seasons, but LaFleur said he is undaunted by the charge to turn things around in his first head coaching gig.
“If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it . . . Every year is a blank slate,” LaFleur said at a Tuesday press conference, via the team’s website. “I’m not worried about what our record was. The record last year, all that means is we have a higher draft pick. That’s all that really matters at that point. We have to go to work to build this roster. Even if we were flipped and it was 14-3, guess what? You go right back to work. I’m just concerned about building this staff and getting to work with these guys so that when the time does come, we’re putting our best foot forward to go win football games and hopefully update that back wall.”
The Patriots are in the Super Bowl a year after going 4-13, so it’s not impossible to imagine an NFL team taking a massive leap from one season to another. There are significant differences between the Patriots and the Cardinals, but Arizona is betting that LaFleur can at least start moving them where they want to go.
Over the weekend, former Cardinals and Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians disclosed that he’s due to have open heart surgery on Friday, February 6.
On Tuesday, Arians posted an update on Twitter.
“Recently on The Today Show, I mentioned I would be having open heart surgery and I just wanted to clarify and let everyone know the procedure I am having is a common one and is something my doctors and I have been monitoring for a number of years and they recommend I correct the issue now so l can be as good as new back on the golf course ASAP,” Arians said on Twitter. “I want to thank everyone for all the prayers and well-wishes.”
Arians has overcome several health challenges over the years. He seems to be ready to take this one in stride, and he’s anxious to get back to working on his swing.
