Mike LaFleur Gets Surprise Visit From Brother Matt Before Cardinals Head Coaching Debut

Mike LaFleur’s first game as an NFL head coach started with his brother crashing the broadcast.

The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers opened the 2026 NFL preseason Thursday night at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, and the pregame show turned into a family reunion. During NBC’s Football Night in America coverage, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was patched in remotely to surprise his younger brother Mike just before Mike’s debut running the Cardinals, according to NBC Sports.

Matt opened by needling his brother. “What are we thinking about doing a pregame interview, don’t you have a team to coach?” he asked, according to Arizona Sports. Then he got to the real question: did Mike have his challenge flag ready?

“I told the officials I’m not going to slam them down like my brother does,” Mike said, per Zach Jacobson of PackerDispatch.com.

The moment didn’t stay jokey for long. Matt, known around the league for his animated red-flag throws on Green Bay’s sideline, told his brother he was proud of him — and it clearly caught Mike off guard.

“I did not expect that right there,” Mike said, according to AtoZ Sports. “I appreciate that, guys. That’s pretty cool. I appreciate that. Come on, man, now you’ve got me a little bit emotional.”

A Rare Club in NFL History

Matt and Mike are only the fourth pair of brothers to both serve as NFL head coaches. They join Jim and John Harbaugh, Jay and Jon Gruden, and Al and Ted Nesser — a group that dates back to the 1920s — per ESPN Research, as relayed by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Both brothers built their coaching résumés on the offensive side of the ball, and their paths ran close to parallel for years.

• Mike worked as a Falcons offensive assistant from 2015-16, then spent 2016-20 as the 49ers’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. He served as offensive coordinator for the Jets (2021-22) and the Rams (2023-25) before Arizona hired him this offseason.
• Matt started as a Texans offensive assistant, then worked as quarterbacks coach for Washington, Notre Dame and the Falcons from 2008-16. He was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and the Titans’ in 2018 before Green Bay hired him as head coach in 2019.

The two even briefly worked in the same building — Mike coached in Los Angeles’s offense the same season Matt still had roots in the Rams’ coaching tree from his own stint there.

The Game Itself

Arizona’s night ended in heartbreak. The Panthers scored on the final play to beat the Cardinals 33-30, with undrafted rookie quarterback Haynes King diving into the end zone with no time left. Both teams rested their starters — Jacoby Brissett and Bryce Young sat out — leaving the spotlight to backups and rookies. Cardinals rookie Carson Beck drew praise for his poise in his first NFL action, according to Yahoo Sports.

The result won’t count for anything come the regular season. But for Mike LaFleur, the outcome mattered less than the moment that came before kickoff — a phone call from his brother, timed perfectly for a night neither of them will forget.