Home / Sports / LaFleur's NFL Playbook: From Texans to Cardinals
LaFleur's NFL Playbook: From Texans to Cardinals
5 Aug
Summary
- Coach LaFleur prioritizes organization, keeping his office meticulously tidy.
- A 2008 Houston Texans playbook shaped LaFleur's coaching philosophy.
- LaFleur learned critical offensive strategies directly from Kyle Shanahan.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur, known for his meticulous organization, built his coaching philosophy on a foundation laid by the 2008 Houston Texans. This pivotal playbook, studied intensely during his early career, introduced him to the outside zone run scheme that remains central to his offensive approach.
LaFleur honed his understanding of this scheme while working under offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan, initially as an intern with the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He spent seven years following Shanahan's path, absorbing the detailed methodology behind constructing offenses by dissecting defensive strategies.
His tenure as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 2021 to 2022 presented mixed results, with the team struggling offensively despite LaFleur's efforts. These experiences, however, taught him valuable lessons about blocking out media noise and focusing on fundamental execution.
Returning to this, LaFleur now leads the Cardinals, implementing a structured training camp. This approach emphasizes refining core concepts and ensuring players master fundamentals, a stark contrast to potentially overthinking offensive creativity, drawing inspiration from Sean McVay's successful methods.
