Matt LaFleur has agreed to terms on a contract extension to remain head coach of the Packers, a week after Green Bay’s season ended with a wild-card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, according to people familiar with the matter.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. ESPN and NFL Network first reported the agreement.
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LaFleur has one year left on his contract. New Packers president and CEO Ed Policy said last summer that he didn’t want to have a lame-duck coach, saying it “would cause a lot of problems.”
Green Bay missed the postseason just once under LaFleur, who posted a 76-40-1 regular season record (.654). The only active coaches with a better winning percentage in at least 50 games are Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni (.694), Los Angeles Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh (.679) and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott (.662).
But LaFleur failed to lead the Packers to the Super Bowl. Green Bay won its last title during the 2010 season and hasn’t played in a Super Bowl since.
LaFleur’s future was in doubt after the Packers lost to the Bears as a wild card, leading 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters. Green Bay went 9-8-1 and lost five straight, despite LaFleur resting starters in the meaningless regular-season finale.
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LaFleur is 3-6 in the postseason, losing five of its past six games. The Packers lost back-to-back NFC championship games in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. They had the NFC’s top seed in 2020 and 2021, but lost at home both years.
Several Packers players said Monday as they cleaned out their lockers that they expected LaFleur to return.
All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons said he was one of the reasons he expressed interest in Green Bay before the Packers acquired LaFleur from the Dallas Cowboys in August. Parsons said he mentioned it to LaFleur after hearing that Coach LaFleur’s job might be in jeopardy.
“He’s a great guy and I think he cares a lot, just like he cares about the players,” Parsons said. “I don’t think people realize it. You can get spoiled by a good coach and a great person, and you don’t realize it until they’re gone, and I don’t want it to be then that we realize, ‘Damn, we let such a great coach go.'”
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LaFleur led the Packers to NFC North titles in each of Aaron Rodgers’ first three seasons at quarterback, and he kept Green Bay competitive after Rodgers was traded in 2023. The Packers made the playoffs in each of their first three seasons with Jordan Love as the starter.
But all three games came as the seventh seed in the NFC. The 2024 Packers also limped into the playoffs, ending up losing three straight.
When Parsons tore his ACL on Dec. 14, the Packers were 9-3-1 on the season, leading the NFC North. They didn’t win another game.
Star tight end Tucker Craft, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and center Elgton Jenkins are also out for the season due to injuries. The Packers enter the playoffs with 15 players on injured reserve.
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If LaFleur loses his job in Green Bay, he would be an attractive head coaching candidate because of his reputation for getting the best out of quarterbacks.
Rodgers won his third and fourth MVP awards during his time with LaFleur, and Green Bay made the transition to Love relatively seamless. Malik Willis, acquired from Tennessee as a seventh-round pick, threw six touchdown passes, three touchdowns and no interceptions in two years as Love’s backup.
LaFleur would prefer to stay in Green Bay.
“I love our players, our locker room, everyone in our organization,” LaFleur said Sunday. “I mean, it’s a unique place. The community is outstanding, just I mean, I grew up in the Midwest and it’s the same atmosphere that I grew up in in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. … Unless you’re from here, you don’t understand how friendly everyone is. No matter who you are, you walk down the street and people say hello to each other. I’ve lived in other places, so I think this is a unique place, it’s a special place. My kids love it here and my family loves it here.”
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