New Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur is setting the tone for his team as voluntary offseason workouts begin this week in the desert.
"Yeah, he's clear and correct and very to the point on how he wants things done and what he expects from us in the building, what he allows and what he doesn't allow," linebacker Zaven Collins said on Tuesday, via the Arizona Republic. "You can kind of tell he's like a no B.S. guy. He's going to tell you what he wants, how he thinks and just be up front."
During his coaching career, LaFleur has worked under the likes of Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Robert Saleh in New York, and, most recently, Sean McVay for three seasons in Los Angeles. Those experiences have informed his no-nonsense approach to the Cardinals' messaging.
"Win football games," Collins said of LaFleur's message, "Yeah, very clear. That's something we want to do this year for sure -- for the Valley, for this organization, for all the guys that come into work every single day."
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The little things fell through the cracks last season in Arizona, from missed blocks to missed tackles to the infamous Emari Demercado fumble at the goal line in a winnable game. Those issues, coupled with injuries piling up, led to a 3-14 season and a change from Jonathan Gannon to LaFleur.
From the outset, the new coach is emphasizing the details, even down to how the club breaks the huddle.
"I think the whole point is that everything is a big deal," center Hjalte Froholdt said. "How about we just figure out how we get in the freaking huddle and we are all on the same page, because if the first group isn't on the same page, well then the rest of the people can't follow along. I think that's a big deal."
Stressing the details is not a new strategy, and it is a Day 1 message from all coaches, particularly those running an operation for the first time. But it remains a staple of good clubs. Winning in the NFL often comes down to which team doesn't beat itself. The Cards too often failed in that department under the previous regime. LaFleur is out to ensure it doesn't happen under his watch.
"The whole goal is to come here to win the Super Bowl," Froholdt said. "But in order to get there, we've got to set the tone first and what the little things are."