Mike LaFleur - Head Coach, cardinals Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-18 | Full transcript (primary source).
Mike LaFleur, Head Coach of the Cardinals, addressed the media during a press conference on September 18, 2026, to discuss the team's preparations for the upcoming game and provide updates on player conditions. The session focused on the importance of mental readiness during walkthroughs and the status of key players ahead of the weekend's matchup.
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Transcript
LaFleur: You had mentioned a number of weeks ago now about how you didn't think a lot of these guys would know what you're bringing to the table for Saturday walkthroughs, and I'm curious is there is there any light? You can shed on that everything exactly like what? What you guys do on a day before yeah? I was just trying to I didn't know if they were they were listening so I just wanted to make sure that they're ready to go that was that was all that was but no they just it's standard. I mean it's not like we're I would say revolutionizing walkthroughs at all but just making sure their minds are right on Saturday mornings. I've been around it, and it's coaches, too. It's like everyone's got it like this is a workday still. It's not physical, but it's a mental workday and we got to get our working in the morning so that at night we can calm down and you know obviously sleep well and get ready for Sunday.
LaFleur: What's that going on with Roy any concern for this weekend? Yeah, it got a got a little bit of a groin, so we'll see where it seems like one of those chess piece guys and stuff to game plan for.
LaFleur: Does it kind of murky it up when his status is in doubt as well? Yeah, it does. Fully expecting him to play obviously he was practicing last week, so we're prepped for that. But definitely saw him firsthand last year. He's a he is I think you worded it perfect. He's a chess piece. Call him a nickel, but he's not a nickel. He's a linebacker and so we'll treat him as such.
LaFleur: With that being said a he's a DB too like in terms of like he has cover skills. You know it's just he's long and big and strong and fast and all the things that you want in that position.
LaFleur: Your game plan here, but what challenges does that present? Yeah, no it does. You guys call it nickel. I don't so that's you know. I mean it's it's not nickel. It's base. So they know that we know that.
LaFleur: With as many times as you did get a chance to work against them last year doesn't make them any easier to deal with in terms of actually on the field. But do you feel more prepared than maybe you would be against another team because you have had it delve into this so many times? Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean you've you've had it obviously game plan them quite a bit and you just know with Mike and ad and their staff that whatever you prep for from the previous games you're gonna get something new maybe completely new.
LaFleur: Even though it's easy for their players because of how they train their guys in terms of linebackers DBs nickels all that and they're you know in each other's meetings and stuff like that in terms of their techniques and all not that I'm there but you can just see it. It's just a really well coached machine and so they've regardless of how you feel about whatever play is on the piece of paper or on the drawing you actually have to go do it and so you're doing it against a really good scheme and really good players.
LaFleur: What do you remember about working with those guys? And what benefits was the first one you said ad? Did you work in the land? Yeah quickly? No benefits at all ad which was just getting into it this was 2016 and what a study was and it was just a matter of time obviously stayed there with dq and kept learning and you know it's not shocking as to where he's at and the success he's had.
LaFleur: He's a I don't know if he feels this way about me, but we or I consider him a good friend him and his wife Kate, so you know great coach better person all those kind of things but but no like that that was so long ago I was QC on receiver all I know is great guy and great worker and obviously that's showing up since.
LaFleur: And then flurry it's been been a number of years and he had just transitioned over to offense. But again, I mean from a schematic standpoint advantage and absolutely nothing again just knowing what kind of worker he is and then obviously how he ascended with with the Niners and what Kyle thought of him I mean just you know knew as a matter of time where where he get his opportunity and he has it.
LaFleur: What was the reaction this week and especially early in the week from all your guys on Kyle all the guys? He came up with after you got your first win? Just like like always. I mean just you know just text and stuff like that. So I think we're all focused on our own stuff.
LaFleur: I mean you try to you try to be a friend and then have a real life there for five ten minutes on the plane stuff like that and responded to people and but I mean everyone's everyone's just so focused on their their own stuff and then kind of moving on.
LaFleur: Yeah, I mean I motivation is is what they need by the week in my opinion and you know so if we had a date back to the history books because we thought that was best to get them ready to play if you will you know, I don't think that's the case. Maybe some of them that you know individually I'm not gonna like if you have feelings about it, you have feelings about it, you know, but we're not talking about it.
LaFleur: We're just it's an opponent. It's a very good opponent in all three phases. I've already talked to you guys about how I feel like they're coached. I think their players are excellent. I think they play the right way. I think any time you said what's the blueprint of what you would want your team to look like I think they're them.
LaFleur: Now that you're in this what's it like to know that all you guys who came up together through Washington Cleveland Atlanta are all multi guys are head coaches at the same time? Yeah, I mean I think it's there's two things I think let's just speak for me. I won't speak for me. I've been very fortunate enough to be around a lot of really good coaches and because of that you know you whether it was acquiring the right talent developing the talent or just being lucky to have the talent.
LaFleur: I like the Julio Jones's of the world when we got there in 15. You know when you have really good players then you end up getting in positions of that that we're all in, you know. So it always will go back down to the players like let's be real like Matthew Stafford's pretty good, you know, so if I helped at all great, but Matthew Stafford is really good whether I was gonna be there or not.
LaFleur: Try to keep track of how everyone does on a certain week like you picket scorers like afterwards? Yeah, obviously I'm peeking at Green Bay a little bit more than others. But yeah, I mean there's a there's 32 teams or 16 games going on.
LaFleur: I mean you always know like yes when I see the Niners the Rams logo stuff like that Tennessee's logo was solid like I mean, yeah, you take a little bit more vested interests I guess you could because they are your guys and you want them to succeed.
LaFleur: But man, you know a lot of guys now, so you're like man I like both those guys like I hope it's a great game I hope they stay healthy as long as it's not against Cardinals.
LaFleur: You said not the health part to play a good game. Sorry. You said a few times a few days ago about kind of the role that special teams plays in who's active on game days. Sometimes some guys in the locker room they've said that the special teams is clearly very important to you to you more than some other coaches they've had in the past.
LaFleur: You've worked with two guys you Shawn and your brother have both been outspoken actually about how they earlier in their careers didn't take it seriously enough had to learn that the hard way. How did you learn to take special teams and you know seriously into place high value on them?
LaFleur: They said that. That's cool. No, I yeah, I mean I'm not sitting there like I don't I don't run special teams meetings or anything like that again. It's just like I don't run defensive meetings, you know, you trust you trust your coaches.
LaFleur: We got enough to do on an offense and then obviously in my position just in terms of making sure you have a pulse on what's kind of going on leaning on your you know, your leaders, which again, we have five captains but we have plenty of leaders in there.
LaFleur: So again, it takes it takes a team with it. But yeah, I mean, I you know, I'm not gonna sit here and say I'm a special teams ace by any means I mean, I probably kind of just the normal fan when it comes to special teams.
LaFleur: But you do just like I always say like you can tell when things are buttoned up and sharp and you can tell when they're not and so I think it's my responsibility to make sure that people understand. Hey, that's right or that's not.
LaFleur: You know, and so I thought I thought our guys just truth be told I thought they played tremendous on Sunday on special teams still some things to clean up but they did they played really well and they set the tone for us and it's gonna even be a bigger challenge this week.
LaFleur: You know, and it's like anything, you know, hey anyone can do it once to see if we can do it twice. Again communication credit money, you know from a roster standpoint always keeping in the forefront of it of his head in terms of you know, hey, we can keep this guy over this guy because of the value that he brings with teams and stuff like that.
LaFleur: It's like hey, that's a really good point and then I'm always kind of keeping it hey this guy's playing a little bit more on defense maybe we need a pair this guy better, you know, you know told this guy back a little bit on teams.
LaFleur: Like he has a really really good pulse on that kind of stuff and and I would say almost talk to him daily about it and then I was obviously communicate that with with Gobi and stuff like that.
LaFleur: Jeremiah's got a full week of practice under his belt or will does it increase the confidence that he could you could play them even more even maybe have an expanded role for him this week?
LaFleur: I wouldn't like I wouldn't say the expanded role anything like that. I mean his role was gonna be what it was, you know, it's we're gonna have I'm trying to word this the right way for you guys.
LaFleur: I mean, they're gonna rotate like they're they are like we're gonna keep this is a long season we have 16 more games guaranteed to us we're gonna get past Christmas before by the time this games and again I always talk about being refeed our only one game matters.
LaFleur: But it is our responsibility and particularly my responsibility to kind of notice that with certain position groups that do take a little bit of a beating.
LaFleur: So I have no idea how many carries is getting it I'd you know have roughly how many plays he's gonna get but you never know there's a flow to it.
LaFleur: I'm sure Steve Kerr didn't want to keep Steph Curry in there for 48 minutes in a regular season game, but sometimes Steph Curry hits 13 threes you're not gonna take the hot hand out.
LaFleur: Sometimes that happens with backs. Receivers don't as much. I mean sometimes they can get in that flow but like they can't control it like that.
LaFleur: Sometimes you can give a back a ball and it just works and it might not even be a very good play play design might not even be blocked very well, but they're just kind of in the in the flow of it and the line feels that too.
LaFleur: So backs are you know again? We'll keep the hot hand in there. Whoever that may be.
LaFleur: Well, I mean running backs quarterbacks line all 53 guys like if it slows down now you're able just to go play your game. It's kind of what I meant by Trey in terms of playing at his pace.
LaFleur: Not like he's rusty. He just plays at his pace because the game is so slow for him he plays harder than anyone on the field every snap.
LaFleur: But on his pace, he's running his routes at his pace within his time and getting his edges, you know, so for Jeremiah just the more the more that he's out there again I felt like we could feel that in the Raiders game in terms of where he was just getting more and more comfortable.
LaFleur: I thought you could feel that in this last game in some aspects again you'd have to ask him and obviously he kind of told you guys but having a good three days of practice under his belt it's just gonna get more and more comfortable like like you think all these rookies.
LaFleur: Well, the touchdown run for Jeremiah was supposed to be at the middle and broke it outside but I mean, it's the right play the one, you know, you cash in on like that or how do you evaluate something like that?
LaFleur: I think that you Kobe's a good coach, man. It's a listen it's a you give you give backs parameters they got their reads they got their keys they got their tracks.
LaFleur: But what I've learned with backs like I've said it all shapes and sizes and then at the same time if some of them got some different gifts you got to let them you got to let them go play too.
LaFleur: So being where your feet are one game at a time one and all that stuff but then you also just mentioned how you have to keep an eye on the future.
LaFleur: How have you been able to balance kind of that with the mentality of I we need to address what's happening now and is that new for you or is that something you learn to do as a coordinator as well?
LaFleur: Yeah, I wouldn't say like I'd say what I just said with backs but I kind of just said that in the moment because that's real, but it's not like I'm thinking about that overly you just it's a long season.
LaFleur: So I mean, that's that's it to me there's an innate I guess, you know, so but now trying to trying to like you say with these players I mean, the only thing that matters is is this one, but then I'll flip it, you know again.
LaFleur: Part of the reason we were going outside a little bit was you're playing the Niners in week three they're not worried about the Niners.
LaFleur: But man how bad would it be on our part if we were inside too much and then you go up there and it's one of those 100 degree days like that would be that'd be a big miscalculation on our end if we didn't you know address that and get get ready for it.
LaFleur: They don't need to worry about that but but now I think when we go up there if it is one of those days at least our guys are used to it, you know.
LaFleur: So getting it's not in the forefront anyone's mind they're worried about Seattle. But so yeah, good question I felt good. That's all good.
LaFleur: Yeah, he loves ball man, so it's you know, he's whether he's in the Midwest, you know around his prey. He just comes over for a free lunch and to watch the DB's and stuff like that, but now he's he's a ball guy, you know, so yeah, he loves it. He's got his two cents for me.
