ARIZONA - The Arizona Cardinals are hoping for an eye-opening turnaround in 2026.
An organization that's won just a combined 15 games in the last three seasons is hoping new head coach Mike LaFleur can turn the tide in the desert. So far, there's hope of that happening thanks to an improved offensive attack while the defense remains to be seen.
If there's a player who knows anything about bad football teams flipping a switch, it's new safety Andrew Wingard .
Wingard, who signed this offseason as a free agent, played seven years with the Jacksonville Jaguars . In his first three years (2019-21) with the Jaguars, Jacksonville won a combined ten games. Last season, the Jaguars won the division with a 13-4 record.
After watching Coen (a Sean McVay coaching tree disciple) turn things around in Duval, Wingard will be one of many chess pieces hoping to help another McVay product in LaFleur replicate the same success.
"I am," Wingard told reporters when asked if he's seeing shades of similar building blocks.
"In the locker room, it just takes ball players, and that's all you can focus on. I've loved every second of it since I've stepped in this building and in this locker room. I haven't seen a single ego. There's no divas. It's like all these guys are such good guys and good people, and that was one of our things in Jacksonville that got us over the top. We just had dudes that cared about each other and were good people and go to work every day and grind. So I've seen nothing but great things from all these guys since I stepped in the building and they've welcomed me in, and it's felt great."
Often times it can be tricky for a first-year coach to take command of a locker room. LaFleur, an exciting but massively unproven hire, has impressed according to Wingard.
"He's been awesome. First day of OTAs, he commands it, and it's not the sort of like, he walks in and it's the drill sergeant sort of command. He's cool, he's relaxed. He's just a good dude. But he commands it, and he's funny. Like he's a funny dude, and guys buy into that," said Wingard.
"But you can tell he has command on the side. And obviously his track record speaks for itself. He's had nothing but success wherever he's been, and he's freaking smart. We get into these walkthroughs, and he'll pause the drill and start talking to the offense, and I'm just like, 'damn, this guy knows his sh--.' But he's impressive."
The Cardinals are widely being overlooked ahead of 2026. A first-year coach, no established franchise quarterback, playing in the NFC West with one of the league's toughest schedules will certainly do that.
That's life, but also life in the NFL offers parity. Over 60% of games come down to one score, and there's just a dash of hope LaFleur will have the Cardinals in more games than they were last season.
The games will trickle in one Sunday at a time, though the most important ingredient to success is players buying in together - which Wingard believes is present in Arizona .
"It's honestly one of the coolest locker rooms I've ever been in. Like everyone is just so cool, truly cool as hell. Like all the guys are real authentic. So I think that's been the biggest thing. And when you're that close with people, it makes playing with each other a lot more fun," he said.
"I've been on teams where you go out on Sunday and you feel like you're out there by yourself. That's not fun, and that doesn't make you feel good, nor does it make you play good. And some of the best teams I've been on have been the coolest dudes I've been with, and you're out there and you feel like you're in college again because you grind with these guys.
"You talk to these guys, you care about these guys, and when we go out there and practice, it's fun because we care about each other, and it's fun to play with guys you care about, and that only just feeds into the beast even more."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi as Cardinals Can Copy Jaguars' Miracle Turnaround - Andrew Wingard Has Been Here Before .
