The Green Bay Packers entered the 2026 NFL off-season with multiple important questions that they needed to answer. Aside from those regarding the roster, there were questions surrounding the futures of general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur with the organization.
New President and CEO Ed Policy had previously stated that he did not believe in “lame duck” years, and both Gutekunst and LaFleur were poised to enter such seasons in 2026, the finals year of the contracts.
Those questions were answered relatively quickly, with both agreeing to contract extensions with the Packers.
There were many who did not want to see LaFleur extended because Green Bay has not won the NFC North since 2021. Furthermore, they have made the NFL Playoffs in each of the three seasons as a seventh seed, and his critics believe Green Bay’s rosters were far too talented to have such a low seed.
However, PFF’s recent NFL head coach rankings have him as the sixth-best coach in the league:
“Taking over for a franchise legend in Mike McCarthy might be imposing for some, but not LaFleur. In his seven seasons with Green Bay, LaFleur has posted a tremendous 76-40-1 clip, including making six trips to the playoffs.
“LaFleur’s background as an offensive mastermind has clearly manifested with the Packers. In his tenure, Green Bay ranks third in EPA per play and touchdown drive rate. Whether developing Jordan Love into a star or finding ways to win with backup Malik Willis, LaFleur has kept the team’s offense in football’s upper echelon by remaining creative schematically.
“It’s true that LaFleur hasn’t realized amazing playoff success of late, losing his last three contests and securing his last victory during the 2023 season after starting with consecutive conference title game berths. In particular, last year’s blown lead to the Bears in a wild-card round defeat spurred job security talks.
“Those seemed a little brash for a consensus good coach, but clearing that late January hurdle would vault LaFleur into a higher stratosphere — and he should have the talent to make a strong attempt again this season.”
“Taking over for a franchise legend in Mike McCarthy might be imposing for some, but not LaFleur. In his seven seasons with Green Bay, LaFleur has posted a tremendous 76-40-1 clip, including making six trips to the playoffs.
“LaFleur’s background as an offensive mastermind has clearly manifested with the Packers. In his tenure, Green Bay ranks third in EPA per play and touchdown drive rate. Whether developing Jordan Love into a star or finding ways to win with backup Malik Willis, LaFleur has kept the team’s offense in football’s upper echelon by remaining creative schematically.
“It’s true that LaFleur hasn’t realized amazing playoff success of late, losing his last three contests and securing his last victory during the 2023 season after starting with consecutive conference title game berths. In particular, last year’s blown lead to the Bears in a wild-card round defeat spurred job security talks.
“Those seemed a little brash for a consensus good coach, but clearing that late January hurdle would vault LaFleur into a higher stratosphere — and he should have the talent to make a strong attempt again this season.”
No team in the NFL is going to use injuries as an excuse for coming up short, and the Packers are no exception. That being said, one certainly has to wonder how 2025 may have been different if Green Bay didn’t lose so many of their best players to season-ending injuries.
Defensively, they were without Devonte Wyatt and Micah Parsons. Offensively, Zach Tom, Tucker Kraft, and Elgton Jenkins were lost. They also were never able to put Kraft, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Josh Jacobs all on the field at the same time.
If LaFleur gets the majority of his best players healthy for a full season, he has the scheme and leadership abilities to take the Packers to the next level.
from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
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