Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Deserves More Praise

The Green Bay Packers hired coach Matt LaFleur before the 2019 season. After the offense began to sputter under Mike McCarthy, LaFleur was brought in to revitalize the unit. With Aaron Rodgers under center, the offense flourished for a couple of seasons leading to three straight 13-win seasons. However, LaFleur was never credited with the success and many saw this season as a test for how good of a coach he actually is. After Sunday, and with the body of work he already has, Matt LaFleur deserves more praise.

Packers Matt LaFleur: A Brief Overview

Let’s start with the win percentage. As of the writing of this article, LaFleur is 48-19 as a head coach for a .716 winning percentage. This is a better winning percentage than Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, and Mike Tomlin by a wide margin. The closest is Belichick at .661. Obviously, the sample size is smaller but it is large enough that it isn’t a total fluke. Here are some other accolades that LaFleur has in his time as a head coach.

-Per the Elias Sports Bureau, his 47 wins are the second most in NFL history by a head coach in his first four seasons in the league, trailing only George Seifert (52).

-Is the only head coach in NFL history to not lose back-to-back games in his first 49 games.

-Became just the sixth head coach since 1970 to lead his team to the conference championship game in both of his first two seasons as a head coach.

His overall body of work is hard to argue with but when we focus on certain games, we can see his coaching prowess.

2021 Thursday Night Game Versus The Arizona Cardinals

Let me set the stage for this game. The Cardinals came into this game undefeated and the hottest team in the league. The Packers got some devastating news on the injury front. Davante Adams and Allen Lazard were out on the COVID list. This left 31-year-old Randall Cobb, Juwann Winfree, and Amari Rodgers as the top wide receivers. Robert Tonyan and Aaron Jones were also available for catching passes but overall the outlook was bleak.

Defensively, the Packers also were dealing with significant injuries. Eric Stokes was CB1 with Jaire Alexander injured. There were so many cornerback injuries that the team had to sign Rasul Douglas off of a practice squad. LaFleur put together a solid game plan. Offensively, they were able to move the ball, and defensively they limited a high-powered offense to 21 points. They won the game and it goes down as one of the most impressive wins in Matt LaFleur’s tenure.

The 2022 Season: A Down Season For Matt LaFleur?

This was LaFleur’s worst season by far but his coaching ability was on display throughout. It was a Murphy’s Law-type season where a lot went wrong. Rodgers dealt with a broken thumb. The wide receiver room had a lot of young players trying to get up to speed. On defense, the team struggled as players regressed from the previous season. Despite all of this, the team went into week 18 with a chance to make the playoffs. While they ultimately lost, the fact they were in that position after the season they had is impressive.

The Jordan Love Era

Ultimately, Matt LaFleur is going to be judged by how Jordan Love does in the NFL. He has had three years to coach him up and now is the time to see if LaFleur can take a young prospect and turn him into a starting-caliber quarterback. The early returns in the preseason were promising. He looked confident in his decisions and ran the offense well. He made all kinds of throws that showed off all of the tools he has for this offense. However, this was only preseason and it remained to be seen whether this could translate into winning in the regular season.

Week 1 Against The Bears

I thought that this was a masterclass in coaching. Love was up and down. The receivers made mistakes throughout the day which is common for a young receiving room. At halftime, the score was only 10-6 thanks to a defensive stop on fourth down that led to the game’s only touchdown. The second half is where the coaching prowess was on display. Matt LaFleur put Love in a position to succeed.

Plays were called at the correct time in order to give Love easy throws for big yardage. Too often, easy throws mean bubble screens and checkdowns but not in this offense. Take the 37-yard completion to rookie Luke Musgrave. This was a slip concept that clearly was practiced. Musgrave was wide open. I’m pretty sure I could’ve hit that throw. Had Musgrave not fallen down, it would’ve been a touchdown. The touchdown on fourth down to Aaron Jones was a simple option route on a mismatch. Jones got the ball on an easy throw and he did the rest.

Throughout the day, LaFleur schemed guys open and all Love had to do was make an easy throw. Then in other cases, Love showed his ability to read the defense and make the correct read. This is directly due to the coaching that Love has gotten over the years. Yes, it is against the Bears who did not offer much resistance but this was a promising first look.

Criticism Of Matt LaFleur

There are three criticisms that I hear most often that are valid. The first is personnel decisions. The defense has underperformed despite all the talent and yet they decided to retain Joe Barry. I personally would have looked elsewhere but if it works out this year, I’m happy to be proven wrong. Second, is the ability to respond to a punch in the mouth. The Packers have done well when they are winning. When the other team comes out and is more physical and gets up early, this team has a tendency to roll over. It’s something that is getting better but still a criticism.

Finally, the lack of playoff success cannot be ignored. The last loss to the San Francisco 49ers was especially bad as the offense looked terrible outside of the first drive. One of the most famous decisions was to go for the field goal in the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead of letting Rodgers go for the touchdown. I’m willing to forgive this one. Making decisions in those games is tough and hindsight is always 20/20.

The Rest Of The League

While Matt LaFleur isn’t the perfect coach (no one is), I have full confidence that he is a good coach who can lead a team to the playoffs. Look at how many other teams have struggled to find a good head coach. The aforementioned Bears may be questioning the Matt Eberflus decision. The Broncos had to trade draft capital to make up for hiring Nathanial Hackett. Teams spend years trying to get the right head coach in the building. The Packers are set at the head coach position which gives them a massive advantage over so many teams.

Matt LaFleur needs to be talked about more for the job he has done. If he leads this team to a playoff spot a year after losing a future Hall of Fame quarterback, he should be the front-runner for Coach of the Year.