The Green Bay Packers reportedly eye a long-term commitment with head coach Matt LaFleur, balancing past success against crucial playoff shortcomings. Is stability enough for Super Bowl dreams?
It sounds like Matt LaFleur will be coming back to coach the Green Bay Packers in 2026 and beyond
That's, at least, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who reported on Monday morning that the Packers are expecting to work out a deal with LaFleur over the next few days to keep him as head coach.
It's worth noting that this isn't set in stone. LaFleur has one year remaining on his contract with the Packers and the long-time ESPN NFL insider did say that "both sides want clarity" as they move forward.
That clarity could very well involve new team president Ed Policy looking at the Packers' collapse against the Chicago Bears this past weekend and deciding not to move forward with LaFleur.
With the way Schefter is talking about this, though, it does sound like the Packers want to move into the future with him.
In a way, it does make sense, too.
Matt LaFleur has plenty of positives as a head coach
This is an organization that has always appreciated stability and, if anything, LaFleur is consistent.
He was a win-loss record of 76-40-1 as head coach of the Packers over the past seven seasons. That's a winning percentage of .654, which is fourth-best amongst active head coaches. LaFleur has also taken the Packers to the playoffs in six out of his seven seasons.
There are a handful of NFL organizations that would kill for a coach like LaFleur, which is why the prevailing thought is that if the Packers do let him go, he'll become the top available coach on the market.
With that said, he's not without his warts.
Matt LaFleur has plenty of negatives as a head coach
After Green Bay's disastrous loss to the Bears in the Wild Card round, LaFleur is just 3-6 in the playoffs as a coach.
Perhaps more distressing for Packers fans, though, is that the meltdown against the Bears, as epic as it was, is just part of the ethos of this team with LaFleur as head coach.
He's a strong offensive mind and he's well-liked by his locker room. By all accounts, he's a great guy, and there are few better representatives of the Green Bay Packers' way of doing things.
He's a good head coach, but in order to win the Super Bowl, you have to be great. At the very least you have to be tough, able to bounce back from adversity, and focused.
Unfortunately, none of those terms can be used to describe the Packers under LaFleur.
It makes sense why the Packers may want to keep him, but there are also plenty of reasons to move on.