Continuing a busy week, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver has booked a second head coaching interview with the Cardinals, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. That meeting will take place Sunday.
Weaver held second head coaching interviews with the Ravens and Steelers earlier this week. The 45-year-old is also a candidate in Buffalo, which will discuss its open job with him today.
Weaver remains “very much in the mix” to end up as Mike Tomlin‘s successor in Pittsburgh, Peter Schrager of ESPN reports. However, after he wraps up his summit with the Bills, he’ll turn his attention back to Arizona.
Weaver joins Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile as the first two candidates to set up second interviews with the Cardinals. Unsurprisingly, Campanile is “firmly in the mix” to land the position, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Either Weaver or Campanile would be a second straight defensive-minded hire for Arizona, which is coming off a subpar three-year run with Jonathan Gannon at the controls. The Cardinals fired Gannon after he went 15-36 and posted a dreadful .294 winning percentage.
A defensive lineman with the Ravens and Texans from 2002-08, Weaver has garnered over a decade of experience as an NFL coach since his playing career ended. The two-time defensive coordinator (with the Texans in 2020 and the Dolphins since 2024) has managed mixed results in that role.
Houston’s Weaver-led defense ranked 27th in points and 30th in yards, and he didn’t keep the job for a second season after the Texans moved on from head coach Bill O’Brien and interim HC Romeo Crennel. Weaver then returned to his former stomping grounds in Baltimore, where he coached the defensive line under coordinators Wink Martindale and Mike Macdonald from 2021-23.
Weaver parlayed his work with the Ravens into a promotion in Miami, whose defense was a significant strength in his first season at the helm. The Dolphins finished fourth in total defense and 10th in scoring. Although they fell to 22nd and 24th in those respective categories in 2025, it’s clear teams aren’t holding that against Weaver.
Almost three weeks since Gannon’s ouster, here’s where the Cardinals’ HC search stands:
- Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Bills): To conduct in-person interview
- Thomas Brown, tight ends coach (Patriots): Interview requested
- Matt Burke, defensive coordinator (Texans): Interviewed
- Anthony Campanile, defensive coordinator (Jaguars): Conducted second interview 1/22
- Jeff Hafley, defensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/14
- John Harbaugh, former head coach (Ravens): Contacted
- Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator (Broncos): Interviewed 1/10, considered “strong candidate”
- Klint Kubiak, offensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/10
- Mike LaFleur, offensive coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 1/16
- Jesse Minter, defensive coordinator (Chargers): Interviewed 1/13
- Raheem Morris, former head coach (Falcons): Interviewed
- Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator (Chiefs): Interviewed 1/9
- Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator (49ers): Interviewed 1/15
- Chris Shula, defensive coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 1/16
- Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator (Steelers): Interview requested
- Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): To conduct second interview 1/25