Packers have enough evidence to evaluate how good Matt LaFleur is

That being said, it's a good opportunity for us to go deeper into what LaFleur is able to do both as an offensive playcaller and play designer, but also other areas of his head coaching job.

Offensive guru

Matt LaFleur was hired by the Packers in 2019 with the idea that he could maximize Aaron Rodgers, but also transition into the next era of Packers football. Leadership was obviously a big part of that process, but his ability to design an elite offense was the main point.

During the last years of Mike McCarthy, there was a sense of stagnation, and Packers players didn't seem to be happy with the offensive construction.

Results couldn't have been much better under Matt LaFleur. Since he took over in 2019, the Packers are second in EPA/play in the entire league, just behind the Kansas City Chiefs.

Having an elite quarterback obviously matters, but the Packers have been the best offense in football outside of the Patrick Mahomes world. That includes teams with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Tom Brady. That also includes elite playcallers, like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

Data analysis

Last year, according to data collected by analyst Steven Patton, LaFleur was the second best offensive playcaller considering personnel and market efficiency team constraints, only behind Mike McDaniel.

And that success is not only based on how good his quarterbacks have been. The Packers are tied for third in overall success rate, second in rush EPA, and third in rush success rate.

Quarterback maximizer

One can argue that Matt LaFleur is a product of how good his quarterbacks are, but it's easy to forget that the perception around Aaron Rodgers was heavily affected by LaFleur's job.

In the last four years of the Mike McCarthy era, Rodgers was 13th EPA+CPOE composite, 11th in adjusted EPA/play, 16h in success rate, 23rd in CPOE, and 27th in air yards among 54 qualified QBs. In Rodgers' four years with LaFleur, he improved in every category (among 58 QBs): 4th in EPA+CPOE composite, 5th in adjusted EPA/play, 12th in success rate, 5th in CPOE, and 16th in air yards. That led him to two MVPs and two First-Team All-Pros.

Jordan Love is a talented player too, and that's why the Packers drafted him in the first round. But he was widely seen as a raw prospect, and Matt LaFleur has been instrumental to his development in the NFL — the difference between the Love that started his first game in Kansas City in 2021 and the player who led the Packers to the playoffs in the second half of last season couldn't be more evident.

"It has really showcased the kind of teacher that Matt (LaFleur) is, because I think you've seen steady growth from Jordan throughout the entire year," Matt Ryan told ESPN last season. LaFleur was Ryan's quarterbacks coach with the Atlanta Falcons when he won the MVP award in 2016.

"They went through the growing pains of starting for the first time, and I think Matt took his time and didn't give Jordan too much too quickly and let him play into it," Ryan added.

Where he can improve

The ability to design a strong offense and to lead the entire roster are important parts of the job, and they have been instrumental to LaFleur's early success as a head coach.

However, it doesn't mean he is perfect. So far, there's one area where LaFleur has had obvious issues: at hiring assistant coaches.

Since he took over, the Packers have been a revolving door at important spots, especially on defense and special teams. LaFleur kept Mike Pettine on his inaugural staff, but fired him two years later. The replacement was also a failure: Joe Barry led one of the worst units in football and got fired this offseason. Jeff Hafley is his third try.

On special teams, Shawn Mennenga and Maurice Drayton were fired in back-to-back offseasons, with awful units that cost the Packers games — and possibly the 2021 season.

Now, he's going into the third season with Rich Bisaccia. After a promising first season, which led to Bisaccia's promotion to assistant head coach, the unit took a step back again in 2023.

Overall, Matt LaFleur has been an excellent coach. He's worked with talented quarterbacks, but he made sure that his system and ability to design a great offense maximized the quarterbacks and everything around them.