Matt LaFleur’s job security was being talked about in some pretty uneasy terms not long ago, but the temperature around the Packers looks a lot different now.
After Green Bay got booed at Lambeau Field in a 35-14 Week 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 24, reports suggested LaFleur was “in a lot of trouble” and could be on the chopping block during the season or after it. Since then, the Packers have steadied things with consecutive wins, moving to 3-2 after a 31-7 demolition of the rival Chicago Bears this past Sunday.
NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated pushed back on the idea that LaFleur was truly in danger when the team was sitting at 1-2, calling it likely “an overreaction.”
“LaFleur has a 79-42-1 record over nine regular seasons, which is 17th all time in winning percentage - better than Andy Reid or Sean Payton,” Breer wrote. “He led the transition off of Aaron Rodgers, helping to identify Jordan Love in 2020 and developing him into a more-than-adequate successor to the Packers’ quarterbacking throne.
He hasn’t won a Super Bowl, but he has been to two NFC Championship Games. There’s a lot to like.”
LaFleur signed a contract extension this past winter, and the expectation would be that Green Bay wants to see more than one season of that deal play out. At the same time, the Packers’ recent surge has come with a little context worth keeping in mind: their Week 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came against a team missing injured starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, and Sunday’s win over Chicago came against a Bears squad without injured QB1 Caleb Williams.
The next test is a bigger one. Green Bay hosts the 2-3 Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, with Dak Prescott expected to start at Lambeau. As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Packers as 1.5-point home favorites.
Breer also pointed to the broader picture in Green Bay, emphasizing the way LaFleur has handled a roster that has been getting younger.
“I understand and respect the standard in Green Bay,” Breer continued. “Mike Holmgren won it all in his fifth season, as did Mike McCarthy, and both did it with young quarterbacks that they personally developed.
So the bar is unapologetically high. Still, I look at where LaFleur has had the Packers, and the young talent that’s been developed on the roster, and it makes me wonder what exactly you’d want instead.”
If Green Bay were to stumble into another lopsided loss at home, the questions would probably start up again. But for now, Breer’s read is that LaFleur is in the clear unless the season really goes off the rails by Christmas.
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