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TEMPE, Ariz. — It was first things first on the first day of the Arizona Cardinals offseason program with new head coach Mike LaFleur last week.
During his first team meeting on Tuesday, LaFleur laid the foundation for what he expects from his first team as a head coach, both on and off the field. He stood in front of the room in the Cardinals' auditorium, commanded the attention of everyone in attendance, dropping a little humor to go along with his message.
LaFleur left no room for interpretation, linebacker Zaven Collins said.
"He's very clear on all that," Collins said "There was no confusion whatsoever. So, it's really nice and you can tell how he wants his ship ran and stuff like that. And it was a really good starting point to see how it's all going to go."
Collins walked out of the room knowing exactly what LaFleur is thinking. And, as an athlete, Collins said he's appreciative of that. LaFleur explained what he wants from his players in the building, how he wants things done, what's allowed and what's not allowed.
"You can kind of tell he's like a no BS guy, right?" Collins said. "He's going to tell you what he wants, how he thinks, and just be upfront. I think also too as an athlete, that's very clear when someone can tell you that and just be like, 'We want you to do this.' OK. It's easy to get it done.
"Sometimes guys try to make it seem like they try to be too nice or this or they don't tell you the right things. It gets very confusing for athletes, especially young athletes. So, I think that's something he does a very good job of, as well."
LaFleur tried to set the tone throughout the meeting for a variety of areas, from an emphasis on winning games to some of the basics of football, including the huddle.
LaFleur explained how he wants his offense to huddle, break the huddle and approach the line of scrimmage with quickness and intent. He broke down how he wants the cadence and established his expectations in the offensive meeting rooms.
Center Hjalte Froholdt said it’s all related.
How a team breaks a huddle, how it calls a cadence, and how it handles itself in a meeting room could all factor into wins, he said.
"Those small details is not just something [where you're like], 'OK, I have to cover this page, whatever, move on,'" Froholdt said. "Every detail is a big detail. So, I think, yeah, OK, we want to get out there and how many points are we going to score? How many games are we going to win? No, how about we just figure out how are we getting in the freaking huddle."
For players who've broken a huddle thousands upon thousands of times in their careers, putting an emphasis on it in Day 1 was proof that LaFleur wasn't going to spare any detail.
Breaking the huddle and getting to the line quickly and with intent can push the defense to get lined up, Froholdt said, quickly giving the offense an advantage.
"If you mosey to the line, you lose seconds," Froholdt said. "Valuable seconds.
"So, if we mosey to the line or if we mosey into the huddle, well, then, I think for an offense, that's generally the first priority is get back to the huddle, get the call and get to the line of scrimmage so then we have time to have the procedure correctly. So, it's a small detail, but it's something that's very important."
Tuesday was LaFleur's first chance to make a first impression as a head coach and establish who he's going to be as the leader of a team.
Collins was impressed, calling LaFleur's presence "awesome."
"He takes control of the room, was a great leader today and guys were bought in, guys were cheering, having a great time already, and that's Day 1," Collins said. "Every single guy was there so it was awesome."
