How Hot Is Matt LaFleur’s Coaching Seat?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

To be fair, several players contributed to the most recent playoff loss. Kicker Brandon McManus left seven points off the board when he missed two field goals and an extra point. Numerous defensive players had and missed their chance at corralling Bears tight end Colston Loveland, who torched the Packers for 137 yards on eight catches.

Unfortunately for LaFleur, the buck stops with him. A deeper dive into Saturday’s defeat, not to mention a pattern of suspicious decisions in December, reveals that the Packers’ coach must shoulder the bulk of the blame.

Green Bay limped into this year’s playoff tournament with a four-game losing streak. Their week 18 game against Minnesota was meaningless, and many starters were rested and did not play.

The three games that preceded that, however, were chalked full of importance. Road games at Denver and Chicago, followed by a home matchup against Baltimore, decided the playoff seeds and who will emerge as division champions.

The Packers lost each of those games even though so much was on the line.

In the games against the Broncos and Bears, LaFleur’s offense sprinted out to halftime leads, only to be diminished due to conservative play-calling in the second half.

The Packers held a 23-14 lead at Denver after scoring early in the third quarter. From there, the Broncos outscored Green Bay 20-3 en route to their 34-26 win.

The manner in which Green Bay succumbed to the Bears was far more gut-wrenching. Leading 16-6 late in the game, LaFleur did not dial up any successful plays in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Packers once again could not seal the deal. Chicago prevailed 22-16.

This same pattern manifested itself again in their most recent game. After bolting out to the 18-point halftime lead, LaFleur stubbornly called run after run on first downs, leading to many second-and-long situations. Faced with passing situations, the Bears’ defense pinned their ears back and pressured quarterback Jordan Love into rushed decisions.

This was a stark contrast to the first half when Love kept the Bears off-balance with first-down passes and third-down throws. That rhythm stymied Chicago, forcing them into more man coverage than they wanted, and the Packers benefited greatly.

In the second half, LaFleur’s tentative calls shifted the momentum towards the home side, and the Soldier Field crowd finally had a chance to go full throat.

After the game when asked about his future, the Packers’ coach seemed unable or unwilling to wrap his head around that topic.

“With all due respect to your question, now’s not the time for that,” he said. “I’m just hurting for these guys. I can only think about what just happened, and there will be time for that.”

For most of December and into January, under LaFleur’s command, the Packers appeared to be playing not to lose instead of going for the proverbial dagger. That is not what Green Bay fans have come to expect.

Some say the definition of insanity is performing repeated behavior while expecting different results. If that is the case, LaFleur’s continued satisfaction with first-half successes couple with insufferable decisions after halftime can only be labeled as insane.

Instead of experiencing Groundhog’s Day once again in 2026, it just may be time for LaFleur’s tenure in Titletown to come to a close.

End Of My LaFleur Rant: It Is Time For A Different Voice

LaFleur has compiled 76 wins in his seven seasons at the helm in Green Bay. His winning percentage puts him just behind Packer legends Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren, and Curly Lambeau.

While that has put him in the good graces of Wisconsinites, his five straight losses to end this season are on the minds of all Packers fans. Being the 7-seed for three years in a row has not made people in America’s Dairyland very content, either.

Another important variable to this equation is LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst each have one more year left on their contracts. First-year team president Ed Policy said before this season that he would prefer not to have a coach or general manager go into a so-called lame-duck year.

What that all means is either LaFleur gets extended or let go, and that decision will most likely be made in the very near future. He coached seven years without playing in a Super Bowl, even with all the young talent teeming in Green Bay. That and his recent failures should signal the end of his time as leader of the Pack.