Consistency in Coaching is just as important as the players’ consistency. The Arizona Cardinals made major changes to their staff this year. Can consistency be created in the offseason to make a difference in 2026?
Coaching Consistency – Arizona Cardinals
The 2025/2026 postseason coaching chaos is going to generate more player inconsistency than in any previous NFL season. It will also wreak havoc on our fantasy seasons, unless…you read these articles and plan ahead. Never in the history of the NFL has there been as many Head Coach and/or Offensive Coordinator changes as there were this offseason. Some of our favorite, consistent players who were last season’s standouts may lose touches to others who were overlooked by their previous coaches. If you know who they are, they’ll be carrying your fantasy teams to championships. In this weekly series of team-by-team articles, I will highlight how our favorite players are likely to be affected by the coaching changes.
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Arizona Cardinals:
The Cardinals’ offense will be crafted by new Head Coach Mike LaFleur and Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. LaFleur comes from the Shanahan/McVay offensive tree. In my opinion, Mike LaFleur’s coaching would normally be a fantasy plus for a few Cardinals that could be on our roster. But what about Nathaniel Hackett as O.C.? At times in his career, he has had some units with historically poor performance. Last season, Arizona showed some hope in the passing game with Jacoby Brissett? Yes, Nathaniel Hackett figured out how to “unlock” Jacoby Brissett. That’s not a sentence anyone ever expected to hear. No offense, Jacoby, you did an amazing job and made Arizona relevant.
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The Players To Watch:
QB: It’s up in the air right now, but one thing that’s certain is that Kyler Murray will be playing football somewhere else. Jacoby Brissett is signed through the 2026 season and is likely to start the season. The Cardinals added the Gardner Minshew Experience, and I expect they’ll grab a late-round rookie to fill up the QB room. They won’t pick a QB early in the draft, but they will in round 4 or later.
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RB: Here’s where the Cardinals are anything but interesting. They will start the season with the horrifically underwhelming trio of Trey Benson, Zonovan “Bam” Knight, and Tyler Allgier. HC LaFleur loves a good bell-cow back, think of Kyren Williams, so this is a room to watch. Benson and Allgier will compete for the starting job. Whoever wins it might be a solid bench save for you.
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WR: Michael Wilson showed what he can do last season, and I see him as being the Puca Nacua of this offense. His partner in crime, Marvin Harrison, will be back and will be used as the F – slot receiver. That’s the Cooper Kupp position, and I’ll call it that until someone does it better than Cooper Kupp. A receiver as talented as Marvin Harrison getting peppered with targets all day is a player I want on my team.
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TE: Trey McBride, lather, rinse, repeat. If I can’t, McBride should be the cover model for Bob Lung’s Consistency guide. The backup to have on your radar, should McBride go down, is Elijah Higgins. If he gets the chance, he’s worth picking up late in the draft if you’ve got McBride.
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K: That’s right, I’m doing kickers. Deal with it. Chad Ryland’s best in-game field goal is 58 yards. Last August, during the pre-season, he hit a 72-yard field goal in warm-ups. In the last couple of years, LaFluer and Hackett have been consistently calling for more long field goal tries than earlier in their careers. If Ryland gets some long chances, he’ll hit some and get you an extra point or two.
Look, it’s the offseason, I get it. But if you start a notebook now and consistently, whenever you hear a good nugget on a player or coach, make note of it, and in draft season, use those notes for the tie-breaker when you get the tough decisions. Remember, the players aren’t calling the plays, and no matter how talented they are, they can’t score unless they’re getting the ball consistently.
