Cardinals 'considering Brian Flores, Lou Anarumo and Mike Kafka for head-coaching vacancy'

The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly narrowed down their search for a new head coach to three candidates: Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant Brian Flores, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the development Sunday, explaining that other candidates such as Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph have been informed that they are no longer being considered.

Of the three, Flores is the only candidate with head-coaching experience after leading the Miami Dolphins from 2019 until his firing after the 2021 season. 

He was a candidate for the Giants job last season, but ultimately lost out to Brian Daboll after what Flores described as 'sham' interview aimed at helping the Giants comply with the NFL's minority hiring practices. Flores then filed a class-action lawsuit against the Giants, Dolphins, Miami Dolphins and the NFL alleging racial discrimination.

The league previously said it would defend itself against Flores's claims, which a spokesman said are 'without merit.' The league is currently trying to stay further proceedings and move the case into private arbitration, while Flores and his attorneys have fought to keep the class-action lawsuit in federal court.

Flores, who is black and of Honduran descent, was fired as Miami's head coach in February of 2021 despite back-to-back winning seasons over the previous two seasons. In his lawsuit, Flores claims the Giants conducted an interview with him in bad faith, having already settled on Daboll as their new head coach. 

Last season, Flores served as a defensive assistant under the Steelers' Mike Tomlin – one of just six minority head coaches entering the 2022 season. Roughly 60 percent of NFL players are African American, while there are only seven black GMs.

Flores is also a candidate to become the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator.

Kafka, a 35-year-old Chicago native, joined Daboll's staff with the Giants before the 2022 season after previously working as the Kansas City Chiefs' quarterbacks coach.

Under Kafka, New York Giants fourth-year quarterback Daniel Jones had his best NFL season, finishing with career bests in completion percentage (67.2), passing yards (3,205), and interceptions (just five).

Anarumo has been in Cincinnati since 2019 after working in a variety of defensive assistant roles with the Giants and Dolphins, not to mention colleges such as Purdue, Marshall, Harvard and the US Merchant Marine Academy.

Under Anarumo, the Bengals ranked sixth in points allowed and 16th in yards allowed in 2022.

The  Cardinals turned the page on their disastrous 2022 season last month by hiring Monti Ossenfort as the team's new general manager.

The franchise announced the hiring of Ossenfort a week after owner Michael Bidwill announced that head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim would not return following a dreadful 4-13 season.

The 44-year-old Ossenfort has spent the past three seasons as director of player personnel for the Tennessee Titans. Before that, he spent 15 seasons with the New England Patriots, helping the franchise win four Super Bowls. In 21 seasons, his teams have made the playoffs 16 times.

Bidwill made the decision to go outside the organization to replace Keim, who had been with the team since 1999 and was the team's general manager since 2013. The 50-year-old Keim took a medical leave of absence near the end of the past season, though the team never elaborated on the reason.

Ossenfort will be charged with building a winning team around quarterback Kyler Murray, who signed a $230.5 million contract last offseason that could keep him with the franchise through 2028. Murray missed the final month of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee and could also miss the beginning of next season.

The Cardinals also have the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming draft.