Like Seahawks and Patriots Cardinals Need to Prioritize Defense in Hiring Anthony Campanile as Head Coach
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By Walter Mitchell
The Seattle Seahawks knew what they were doing when they hired defensive-minded head coach Mike Macdonald. What GM John Schneider understood is that the priority for winning in the NFC West is to be able to find a way to thwart Sean McVay's and Kyle Shanahan's offenses.
In just two years with Mike Macdonald at the helm, the Seahawks have emerged as the toast of the NFC. First and foremost, they have done it with an uber aggressive, highly physical defense that is at time reminiscent of the "Legion of Boom" Seattle defenses that helped them appear in back-to-back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015, the former of which they won over the Denver Broncos.
Last night, in their thrilling 31-27 win over the Rams, the Seahawks' defense made the biggest play when the outcome of the game was at stake. With Matthew Stafford and the Rams marching into the end zone with a chance to take a late 4th quarter lead, on a 4th and 4 at the Seattle 6-yard line, here, thanks to ESPN, was the play of the game:
4:59 - 4th
(Shotgun) M.Stafford pass incomplete short middle to T.Ferguson (D.Witherspoon).
4th & 4 at SEA 6
From there the Seahawks were able to run out the clock and secure one of the sweetest victories in the history of their franchise.
Earlier in the day, the New England Patriots were able to hold off the #1 seed Denver Broncos by a 10-7 score. Mike Vrabel in his first season as head coach, was able to control the outcome of the game in highly inclement weather by virtue of his stifling defense that limited the Broncos offense to 181 yards and 7 points, most of which came in the first half.
The difference in the game was the running of Patriots' QB Drake Maye, who was able to score to tie the game in the first half on a 6-yard TD and was able to convert a key third down in the second half that led to Andy Borregales' game-winning 23-yard field goal, the only score of the second half in what became a torrential snowstorm.
The Importance of great defense as it relates to winning games can be found in these 2025 rankings:
The Final Four:
Total Defense --- Rushing Defense ---- Points Allowed --- 2025 Wins:
* Broncos #2 --- #2 --- #3 --- 15 wins
* Seahawks: #6 --- #3 --- #1 --- 16 wins
* Patriots: #8 --- #6 --- #4 --- 17 wins
* Rams: #17 --- #12 --- #10 --- 14 wins
Why the Arizona Cardinals would be wise to hire the best possible defensive-minded head coach.
Cardinals --- #27 --- #25 ---#29 --- 3 wins
NFC West: Cardinals went 0-6, giving up 34.3 points per game.
Why Anthony Campanile is the best defensive-minded head coach candidate:
Jaguars--- #11 --- #1 --- #8 --- 13 wins
Have yourself a great read as to why Anthony Campanile is an outlier:
Here Anthony Campanile talks about the coaches who have most influenced his style of defense:
In addition, here is a short video of Aaron Nagler, popular pundit for the Packers, felt they were losing when Anthony Campaneli took the Jaguars DC job. Did you know that Coach Camp rose the Packers' LB job because of his good BC friend Jeff Hafley and turned down some DC job at Penn St., Notre Dame and, had Robert Saleh gotten the Jaguars' HC job, Kyle Shanahan's plan was to sign AC as the 49ers DC. Watch here:
Green Bay Defense Ranking with Camp in 2024 and without him in 2025 (with Micah Parsons on board)
* Total Defense: #8 ---> #11
* Passing: #13 ---> #11
* Rushing: #7 ---> #18
* Scoring: #6 ---> #11
* Takeaways: #6 ---> #25
Anthony Campanile talking about why he took the Jaguars' DC job (highly recommend that you watch the entire video):
Why Mike LaFleur and Raheem Morris (if he'd even accept a DC role under a lesser-qualified candidate when he was a HC candidate) are not the strongest coaching options for the Cardinals at this time.
Anthony Campanile's’ career is the only one of the Cardinals' top candidates that trending upward. The comparisons are not even close. Check the facts. Check how well did LaFleur perform with the two young QBs he coached in C.J. Beathard (R3 2018) and Zach Wilson (R1 pick #2 in 2021). The numbers should alarm you.
As for Raheem at no point has he had the kind of brilliant season on defense that Campanile achieved with the Jaguars who far outplayed the Falcons:
Falcons --- #15 --- #24 --- #19 --- 8 wins
Plus, ask yourselves which of the three has the charisma and gravitas to have the Cardinals playing all-out attack style of football?
Go read what their players are saying.
Which of these coaches’ players made t-shirts with their coach’s name on it with the word “cooking” to wear in the weight room?
Which of these coaches has a background in strength and conditioning? Think we need a little of that in Arizona?
If you take the time to do the research and to answer the questions you should be able to see with great clarity which of these coaches is the best choice to be the Cardinals’ tour de force HC.
How and why Mike LaFleur struggled with the Jets:
My response:
That's a copout. The Jets had one of the best defensive play callers in the NFL in Robert Saleh and Saleh did his part to make the Jets one of the best defenses in the league. They had the #2 pick in the 2021 draft and they took Mike LaFleur's preferred QB in Zach Wilson. In that same draft the Patriots at pick #15 drafted Mac Jones who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. And he was doing well until Belichick decided to make Joe Judge and Matt Patricia his co-OCs.
If anyone took the time to watch Zach Wilson play it was horrendous. There were games where threw interceptions to defenders in areas where there were no receivers. This happened multiple times. He looked like the most ill-prepared, poorly coached QB in the NFL. One NFL GM called it "the worst rookie QB performance I've seen." It was not for lack of playmakers around him. Go look at their roster. RBs Michael Carter, Tevin Coleman, WRs Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, Keelan Cole, Jamison Crowder, TE Tyler Kroft, etc.
Zach Wilson:
2021: 13 games, 213/383, 55.6%. 2,374 yards, 9 TD, 11 int. 33.4 QBR
But did Mike LaFleur help Zack Wilson improve in 2022?
2022: 9 games, 132/242, 54.5%, 1,688 yards, 6 TD, 7 int, 38.5 QBR
It wasn't just Zach Wilson who was struggling with Mike LaFleur's offense. From a NYT article: "Zach Wilson, Mike LaFleur and the fallout from a Jets offense that never took flight" by Zack Rosenblatt:
LaFleur’s hiring was praised by many around the league. “It’s the West Coast system,” he said in his introductory news conference. “We’re trying to run the outside zone and do the play-action stuff off of it, but we fit it to our players.” But some players found the system to be needlessly complicated.
“We’ll have one route but it has a bunch of different names depending on the concept,” said a former Jets receiver who spent time with the team in training camp this year. “I’ve been on multiple teams, this is the first time I’ve experienced that.”
What Mike LaFleur has needed to do was get out of Sean McVay's shadow to go be an OC for another team. Then he could prove his own abilities. But because he hasn't, there is no evidence whatsoever that he could be a good play caller, let alone be the right coach to choose the Cardinals' QBOF.
The only other young QB that Mike LaFleur has had a part in trying to develop was C.J. Beathard in SF (3rd round 2017) and Beathard's stats are nearly identical to Zach Wilson's.
For the two years LaFleur was with him (Beathard's 1st two years in NFL) in 10 starts (1-9 record) combined his completion percentage was 57.3% and his TD-int was 12-13, QBR of 38.8.
The point is that throughout Mike LaFleur's years in the NFL, there is not a young, drafted (or otherwise) QB anyone can point to in order to legitimize his ability to develop QBs.
In today's NFL, teams need their HC to be a proven schemer, motivator and difference-maker on their side of the ball.
How can anyone be a legitimate HC candidate without having proven a thing on his own yet?
Meanwhile, Cardinals' podcasters and fans are calling LaFleur a "dream" candidate and a shoo-in for the job. It's ad nauseum, hyperbolic propaganda that preys on the gullible and uninformed.
So, when you claim that "saying LaFleur failed with the Jets is like saying someone failed with the Cardinals" that is patently false, The Cardinals drafted Kyler Murray at Kliff Kingsbury's behest, and his first two years Kyler was awarded NFLOROY and his 1st Pro Bowl.
More Questions:
Should anyone really believe that at this point in his career Mike LaFleur has accomplished enough on his own to deserve a head coaching job?
Do you really believe that Mike LaFleur would be able to outcoach Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Klint Kubiak in offensive shootouts?
Wouldn't Mike LaFleur be a stronger candidate if he got out from the shadow of Sean McVay and took an OC job with another team, so as this time to prove how good he can be at coordinating and play calling?
What can Brown do for you?
The offensive play caller I would love to see for the Cardinals as OC is another Sean McVay protégé, Thomas Brown, the passing game coordinator for the Super Bowl bound New England Patriots. Thomas Brown has NFL experience as a play caller with the Panthers and Bears. And he has manifested a positive impact on the development of Bryce Hall, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
In 2023, after Frank Reich, head coach of the Panthers, relinquished the play calling duties to Thomas Brown, "Brown was named one of the top offensive coordinators in the league in an NFLPA poll of players."
NFLPA report 2024:
Top 5 Offensive Coordinators
- 1. Frank Smith - Miami Dolphins
- 2. Thomas Brown - Carolina Panthers
- 3. Brian Schottenheimer - Dallas Cowboys
- 4. Brian Callahan - Cincinnati Bengals
- 5. Kellen Moore - Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Vrabel on Thomas Brown
"Brown was one of the Patriots offensive coordinator candidates this offseason. According to multiple reports, Mike Vrabel was so impressed with his interview that he offered him a spot on his staff as the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator."
During the season, Mike Vrabel commended Thomas Brown's impact on Drake Maye and the Patriots' #4 ranked passing game.
The Cardinals interviewed Thomas Brown a couple weeks ago. Hopefully they were as impressed with Brown the way Mike Vrabel was.
I think it would be a total coup if the Cardinals sign Anthony Campanile as head coach and Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator.
Replying to @WBJMItch
Lots of respect to you, Lukeyy. My agenda is I want to see the Cardinals win by making the smartest choices. Not by gambling on a coach who has never accomplished anything of commendable success on his own. I don't hope anyone fails. I disliked the Gannon decision, but I was hoping for the best. Yet it confirmed all of my doubts about the validity of the hire and, as I feared at the time, it set the Cardinals back 3 years.
I know Anthony Campanile from his BC coaching days. He is phenomenal. It's too bad that some think because of the viral tape that he talks like that all the time. That was his one chance as a linebackers coach to fire up the whole team. He certainly knew how to do it! In fact, he doesn't f-bomb players in practice. He understands the axiom of "better to praise publicly and criticize privately." His players will tell you how much they respect him for that. They will also tell you that they will get an earful from him any time he thinks the went soft on a play. Our defense is broken. It was left unaccountable. There is no better coach to fix this wreckage with immediate impact than Coach Camp. This guy is the polar opposite of Gannon.
Great article, Walt! You’ve got me more and more convinced that Coach Camp is the right choice. Are there any indications of who we may bring in as his OC? Does he have connections to Thomas Brown, or is that just wishful thinking? In any event, I think the Cardinals will be fixated on the shiny object (LaFleur), So they will go in that direction unless he rejects them (which is certainly plausible). It may be a blessing if LaFleur says “no” and we stumble into hiring a strong defensive leader who can not only scheme with the best of them, but provide motivation and change the culture of the organization.
ReplyDeleteThanks CardsFan31, AC did such a great job hiring his defensive staff with the Jaguars that he will choose well across the board.
DeleteLooks like it might be down to three HC candidates. Rams OC Mike LaFleur, Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile and former Falcons HC Raheem Morris.
ReplyDeleteHawks are #1 in points allowed and Pats are #4 so as usual, defense gets you to the big show. My question is, can a defensive minded HC like Camp bring with him a qualified OC or can MO find a good OC who will take the job. Since defenses are so strong these days and can make even the best O-lines look average, the QB they select (hopefully in 2027) needs to be a guy who can process things very quickly and that QB will need a very good OC especially on a team like the Cardinals. That said, I don't like the idea of LaFleur for HC as I believe without McVay and Stafford, he'd be average at best. He's a product of his environment. Morris has HC experience and won more games the past two seasons with the Falcons than Gannon won in 3 season in AZ but his defense last season was ranked 19th in points allowed. Camp is my first choice out of these three. Camp is a fiery coach who seems to get the respect of his players and coaching runs in his family which is huge IMO.
Offensive-minded head coaches are projected to fare better going forward because today’s rules, QB-centric success, and game-management trends favor offensive design and continuity, leading to more consistent wins. Defensive-minded coaches can still succeed, but their results are more volatile and harder to sustain long term. I still like Klint Kubiak who I believe will bring in an excellent DC. I have dismissed Lefluer and still have interest in Joe Brady if Kubiak doesn't take the job. Regardless, any staff we hire will be an improvement over the staff we just fired.
ReplyDeleteI believe we need a HC who manages MO and Bidwill, not the other way around and I'm not sure any candidate we've interviewed can do that.
BTW-NFL data from 2025 indicated that first-time offensive head coaches had a significantly higher "over rate" (64%) compared to defensive hires, who often struggled in their debut seasons. Frankly, we will struggle next season regardless. No HC will have an unrealistic win now mandate. Improvement, stability, accountability and competitive effort should be the goal.
DeleteThe Hawks will probably win it all this year and i've read that they are going all out to keep Kubiak in Seattle. I like Kubiak but even if he leaves the good thing he has going on, AZ is probably not his first or second choice. That said, my guess is MB wants to go with an offensive minded HC this time around so I would not be surprised if he hired LaFleur because I think he would take the job.
DeleteUsing your logic from above the best defence in your post is that of the Broncos and one Vance Joseph. Payton's decision yesterday to go for it on 4th down in a game the Patriots could do nothing against VJ's defence took all his headlines away.
ReplyDeleteI would be very happy with AC being hired and if Thomas was the OC, I would be very excited for the coming season. I have huge concerns for ML even before I read your post.
I share your concern with all the shows and influencers pushing candidates that they really know little about. That should be left to the true football guys like you. Some of these shows have many followers and sometimes I think it leads to decisions being made to make everyone happy and sell more season tickets based on hope rather than building a winning program. Winning fixes everything and if they get the right people in there and start winning games, ticket sales will follow!!
Good points, NSCard. Vance's defense played well. It has pretty much all year. Jim Leonhard has been a wizard in the secondary.
DeleteCampanille should be a stronger consideration than Lefleur at this point. Lafleur is a legacy in an outstanding program. How much can you really interpret if McVay still calls all the plays? Its hard to discern what part of the #1 offense is Lafleur really responsible for? We can look at his tenure with the Jets or results with San Francisco. Those results domt really move the needle. Canpanille has turned the Jags defense into th #1 running stopping defense in the NFL with no name ingredients. I know the Rams coordinators get all the hype on paper. Campanille gets results on the field.
ReplyDeleteOnce the Browns pull the trigger on promoting Schwartz, it will be down to the Raiders with the first overall draft pick and AZ. Bidwill’s plan to be the last job available is playing out perfectly for all those desperate guys wanting to take this incredible, brilliant and exciting role here in the 72 degree desert…. What a masterful demonstration of Great Leadership by this gifted owner
ReplyDeleteRumors are Klint Kubiak has the Raiders job.
DeleteGood job Kyle Ledbetter for your spot on call that Joe Brady deserves and will get a HC job. He did, with probably the best job of the bunch.
ReplyDeleteWe love our "L'il Rock Specials" here on Red Rain!
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ReplyDeleteWalter B J Mitchell
@WBJMItch
I wish to thank Anthony Campanile for seeing something you liked well enough in Arizona in waiting this long and patiently during the Cardinals' wide-net search. In my opinion, Coach Camp you were the brightest and fastest fish in the net. Kudos to the Jaguars for stepping up and keeping you and Grant Udinski by Liam Coen's side as you try to win a Super Bowl. Please give my warmest regards to Dennis Gardeck and Spencer Whipple, two former Cardinals I am always going to miss. Coach Camp you epitomize Vince Lombardi's connotation of the word "pursuit." You win by being you.
I don’t understand this infatuation with Mile Lafluer, seems like the Offensive version of Gannon. Riding coattails must impress Jr.
DeleteAfter two interviews for the worst job in football, the experience, probably, reconfirmed a good situation in FL.
DeleteWell said Walt!
DeleteThank you, Bodine.
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