Mike LaFleur has learned from some of the NFL's best coaches. Now he'll try to turn around the Cards

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mike LaFleur has spent more than a decade in the NFL learning from some of the best in the coaching profession.

Now he'll try to use that knowledge to turn around the Arizona Cardinals, who have usually been among the league's worst teams over the same time period.

“If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth it,” LaFleur said. “We know the work we've got in front of us.”

The 38-year-old — who comes to the Cardinals after three seasons as the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator — was introduced as the team's head coach on Tuesday and spent a big chunk of time discussing the mentors who helped get him to this point.

The list was impressive. LaFleur name-checked some of the league's most respected names, including 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Rams coach Sean McVay, Titans coach Robert Saleh and Commanders coach Dan Quinn.

Then there's his brother Matt LaFleur, who leads the Green Bay Packers and his dad Denny, who was an assistant at Central Michigan for years.

It's a lot of knowledge. He might need it all to turn around these Cardinals, who finished 3-14 this past season, have made the playoffs just once in the past 10 seasons and are now on their ninth head coach since 2000.

LaFleur replaces Jonathan Gannon, who was fired on Jan. 5 after a 15-36 record over three seasons.

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said after Gannon was fired that he expected the new coach to lead a quick turnaround.

LaFleur agreed, calling the NFL a “bottom-line business," but added there is a lot of work to do before discussing postseason goals.

“I'm not even worried about the first game in September,” LaFleur said. “I'm worried about building relationships with these guys, building the best staff we can, improving the roster because we owe it to these guys and then getting going.”

The Rams had one of the NFL's top offenses under LaFleur in 2025, averaging nearly 400 total yards and more than 30 points per game with a core group that included veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Puka Nacua. They fell one game short of the Super Bowl, losing to the Seattle Seahawks 31-27 in the NFC championship game.

In Arizona, LaFleur inherits some intriguing offensive players, including All-Pro tight end Trey McBride, receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and running back James Conner.

Arizona also has the No. 3 overall pick in April’s draft.

LaFleur made it clear that he believes the Cardinals can be a good football team in the near future. Arizona struggled to win close games last season, suffering through a five-game losing streak that was decided by a combined 13 points, including three on last-second field goals.

“I've seen it first hand, I know what's on this roster,” LaFleur said. “There's a lot of reasons I'm so thrilled to be in this seat. ... We've got to figure out what those little edges are to get us over and that's what we intend to do."

The biggest questions on Arizona's roster surround quarterback Kyler Murray, whose future with the franchise is in flux. The 28-year-old has played seven seasons in the desert since being selected with the No. 1 pick in 2019 but has been to the playoffs just once, losing in the wild-card round to the Rams in 2021.

LaFleur said he's been in contact with Murray and praised the quarterback's ability, though he didn't shed much light on his role next season.

“I have a lot of respect for him as a player," LaFleur said.

Murray played in just five games last season because of a foot injury, throwing for 962 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s in the middle of a $230.5 million, five-year contract that could last through 2028.

Jacoby Brissett started the final 12 games of the season, throwing for 3,366 yards, 23 TDs and eight interceptions but winning just one game. He’s also under contract next season.

Matt LaFleur — who recently hired Gannon to be the Packers defensive coordinator next season — was in the front row of Tuesday's news conference. He said his younger brother is ready for the challenges ahead.

“I'm really excited for his opportunity," Matt LaFleur said. "He's earned it. He's done it the right way. He's been himself throughout this whole journey, knowing that there's no shortcuts and you've got to put in the work.

“I think he's going to do a great job.”

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Arizona Cardinals new head coach Mike LaFleur poses with his family after after being introduced during an NFL football news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell introduces new head coach Mike LaFleur during an NFL football news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals new head coach Mike LaFleur, left, and general manager Monti Ossenfort speak during an NFL football news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals new head coach Mike LaFleur acknowledges the media after being introduced during an NFL football news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals new head coach Mike LaFleur, center, poses with owner Michael Bidwell, left, and general manager Monti Ossenfort during an NFL football news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal officers are temporarily restricted from using tear gas at protests outside a Portland immigration building, a judge in Oregon ruled Tuesday, just days after agents fired gas into a crowd of demonstrators that local officials described as peaceful and which included young children.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ordered federal officers to not use chemical or projectile munitions unless the person targeted poses an imminent threat of physical harm. Simon also limited federal officers from firing munitions at the head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”

The temporary restraining order will be in effect for 14 days.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists covering demonstrations at the flashpoint U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.

The suit names as defendants the Department of Homeland Security and its head Kristi Noem, as well as President Donald Trump. It argues that federal officers’ use of chemical munitions and excessive force is a retaliation against protesters that chills their First Amendment rights.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Courts elsewhere have also considered the issue of federal agents’ use of chemical munitions against protesters, as cities across the country have seen demonstrations against the Trump administration’s surge in immigration enforcement.

Last month, a federal appeals court suspended a decision that prohibited federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who aren’t obstructing law enforcement. An appeals court also halted a ruling from a federal judge in Chicago that restricted federal agents from using certain riot control weapons, such as tear gas and pepper balls, unless necessary to prevent an immediate threat. A similar lawsuit brought by the state is now before the same judge.

The Oregon complaint describes instances in which the plaintiffs — including a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists — had chemical or “less-lethal” munitions used against them.

In October, 83-year-old Vietnam War veteran Richard Eckman and his 84-year-old wife Laurie Eckman joined a rally that peacefully marched to the ICE building. Once there, federal officers launched chemical munitions at the crowd, hitting Laurie Eckman in the head with a pepper ball and causing her to bleed, according to the complaint. With bloody clothes and hair, she sought treatment at a hospital, which gave her instructions for caring for a concussion. A munition also hit her husband’s walker, the complaint says.

Jack Dickinson, who frequently attends protests at the ICE building in a chicken suit, has had munitions aimed at him while posing no threat, according to the complaint. Federal officers have shot munitions at his face respirator and at his back, and launched a tear-gas canister that sparked next to his leg and burned a hole in his costume, the complaint says.

Freelance journalists Hugo Rios and Mason Lake have similarly been hit with pepper balls and tear gassed while marked as press, according to the complaint.

“Defendants must be enjoined from gassing, shooting, hitting and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists willing to document federal abuses as if they are enemy combatants,” the complaint says. “Defendants’ actions have caused and continue to cause Plaintiffs irreparable harm, including physical injury, fear of arrest, and a chilling of their willingness to exercise rights of speech, press, and assembly.”

Local officials have also spoken out against the use of chemical munitions. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson demanded ICE leave the city after federal officers used such munitions Saturday at what he described as a “peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces.”

“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave,” Wilson wrote in a statement Saturday night. “To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children.”

The protest was one of many similar demonstrations nationwide against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in cities like Minneapolis, where in recent weeks federal agents killed two residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed.

Federal agents lobbed tear gas and flash bangs at protesters in front of the ICE building on Jan. 31, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)