The Green Bay Packers prioritized stability, retaining Matt LaFleur. They're now hoping that quarterback Jordan Love thrives under that consistency, fueling his growth and the Packers' championship aspirations.
New team president Ed Policy had a big decision to make after the 2025 season. The Green Bay Packers were coming off a heartbreaking and disappointing loss to their biggest rival, the Chicago Bears, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
That loss was Green Bay's fifth-straight to end the season. It was a terrible skid, and many in the fanbase were calling for head coach Matt LaFleur to be fired.
LaFleur is a winning coach, without a doubt. His overall record in Green Bay is 76-40-1 and he's taken the Pack to the playoffs in six out of his seven seasons.
There are franchises in the NFL that would love to have a head coach like LaFleur. He hasn't been able to get the Packers over the hump, but had he hit the market, he would have been the top head coach available this offseason.
Boiled down, the decision Policy had to make was between two very separate ideas: Consistency or change.
He chose consistency, and franchise quarterback Jordan Love was clearly happy that he did.
Recently speaking to the media at a charity event, Love explained how important consistency is for a quarterback.
“Being able to keep Matt around is awesome, and I’m very happy about that,” Love said, per Kyle Malzahn of WFRV. “It’s a lot to learn a whole new system and new terminology. As a quarterback, being in the same system, the same terminology, it definitely helps me out.”
If Love is happy, the Packers should be happy.
General manager Brian Gutekunst took a big swing on him with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft when the Packers still had Aaron Rodgers playing at a primetime level.
It was very reminiscent of the risk the Packers took bringing in Rodgers to sit behind Brett Favre for a few seasons. That risk worked out for the Packers to the tune of a Super Bowl XLV win in 2011 and multiple MVP awards for Rodgers.
Love hasn't hit those milestones yet, but he's slowly but surely become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL over these past six seasons. In fact, last season, he played at an MVP level for much of the campaign.
Love threw for 3,381 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to six interceptions. He was hardly the reason the Packers lost to the Bears in the playoffs, either. In that game, he completed 24-of-46 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
The Packers have their franchise quarterback in Love, and they decided to keep the coach who has gotten him to this level around.
Were there downsides to retaining LaFleur? Absolutely. Stagnation is going to be a constant concern.
The upsides of consistency clearly outweighed those concerns, though. Especially for the quarterback.
PackersRoundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Packers. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.