Green Bay Packers: ESPN Analyst Rates Coaching Staff Top 10 In The NFL

The Green Bay Packers head into another year with high expectations. A few years ago, no one knew what this team would be after franchise legend Aaron Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets. Jordan Love came out and showed he can be a quality starter in the league. Last year, the biggest improvement was on defense, with first-year coordinator Jeff Hafley proving he can be a quality coordinator in the NFL. Many analysts speak highly of the Packers’ coaching staff, but this group is often not talked about among the best. ESPN’s Ben Solak released his coaching staff rankings on Friday and gave this staff a top ten rating.

Green Bay Packers Coaching Staff Receives High Marks

Solak rated all of the head coaches, offensive coordinators, and defensive coordinators heading into the 2025 season. The Green Bay Packers came in at number ten. He pointed out Matt LaFleur’s work last year, working around the Love injury. After Love injured his knee in the opening game against the Philadelphia Eagles, many wondered if the season would turn from bad to worse. However, LaFleur adapted, winning the next two games with newly acquired backup Malik Willis. The running game was creative and dominant at times and Love was able to move the ball down the field easily at times. Hafley was also given his flowers for what he did with very limited personnel.

The biggest knock on the staff is a concern that many fans and analysts had last season. The Green Bay Packers were 1-5 against the NFC North and needed a blocked field goal against the Chicago Bears to get that one win. They lost the Eagles twice as well. Basically, when they played the elite teams, the game plan suffered.

“The best defensive coordinators — Vic Fangio, Brian Flores and Aaron Glenn — were able to flummox Love and expose that opportunistic defense. Green Bay’s staff never found a solution as the season went on.

This is still a good staff, and I have faith in their continued growth into a playoff contender. But I need to see it first.”

We won’t have to wait long to see if LaFleur and his staff can prove the doubters wrong as the team opens up the season at home against the Detroit Lions.

LaFleur Isn’t Talked About Enough

The ESPN rankings dealt solely with last year’s results, but LaFleur has been one of the best coaches in the league since he took over the Green Bay Packers in 2019. Since taking over the team, he has gone 67-33, which equates to a .670 winning percentage. That is currently good for 13^th all-time among NFL head coaches and third among active head coaches (Nick Sirianni and Jim Harbaugh). Furthermore, his work with Rodgers looks even better in 2025.

When Mike McCarthy was fired, Rodgers looked to be on a decline. He was also starting to get the reputation of being difficult to work with, and early reports were that he and LaFleur clashed over offensive ideals. However, they must have worked them out as Rodgers won back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021. Now that we have seen his New York Jets tenure play out, LaFleur looks like a quality coach. Furthermore, he has taken the youngest team in the NFL to back-to-back playoff appearances and developed Love into a quality NFL starter.

It would be foolish to say he is the greatest coach in the league or that he has no flaws, but LaFleur has proven he has what it takes to coach a winning team in the NFL.

Final Thoughts

The Green Bay Packers have high expectations again heading into 2025. Many view the poor record against elite teams as a fluke. The team was in many of those games, and if one or two plays go their way, the conversation around this team is different. The Packers have an above-average coaching staff. Can they prove they are among the best in the league in 2025?