Packers Land Surprising Spot in SI’s Coach-Quarterback Rankings

The Green Bay Packers are in good hands with coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love.

At Sports Illustrated, Matt Verderame, ranked all of the NFL coach-and-quarterback duos. Individually, LaFleur was ninth among coaches and Love was ninth among quarterbacks. They are one of only five teams in which both coach and quarterback ranked in the top 10.

Even after a nine-win season and a second consecutive one-and-done playoff, they shot up from 13th to fifth overall.

“For Green Bay, the problem has been finding the star power needed to make a deep run,” Verderame wrote as part of his explanation. “Over the past three seasons, the Packers have been a wild-card team and have won only a single playoff game. The problem hasn’t been LaFleur or Love, but a defense that allowed 27.2 points per game throughout that stretch. The answer was supposed to be edge rusher Micah Parsons, who was great with 12.5 sacks until he tore his ACL in Week 15 against the Broncos.” 

Surging Jordan Love

Love is coming off his best season and has made his case for being a top-10 quarterback. Look at the improvement:

Passer rating: 96.1 in 2023, 96.7 in 2024, 101.2 in 2025.

Completion percentage: 64.2 in 2023, 63.1 in 2024, 66.3 in 2025.

Touchdown-to-interception ratio: 2.91 in 2023, 2.27 in 2024, 3.83 in 2025.

Interception percentage: 1.9 in 2023, 2.6 in 2024, 1.4 in 2025.

Fourth-quarter comebacks: 2 in 2023, 2 in 2024, 4 in 2025.

During Love’s three years as a starter, he ranks eighth with 7.6 yards per attempt and 11th with a 97.6 passer rating.

“Jordan’s been awesome, man,” LaFleur said at OTAs on Wednesday. “Like every year, he just continues to grow as a leader, you know. His consistency is remarkable. Who he is on a daily basis, showing up, how he works, how he leads others, he’s pulling guys with them. So, I’m really excited about what is in store for him.”

There’s been some upheaval for Love. He’ll have a third position coach in as many seasons with Tom Clements retiring after the 2024 season, Sean Mannion becoming offensive coordinator of the Eagles after the 2025 seasons and now Luke Getsy leading the group in 2026.

There’s a new backup, too, though Tyrod Taylor’s wealth of experience should be a help.

“I think big time,” LaFleur said. “I think any time you get a guy that’s been through a lot, seen a lot, he can certainly help Jordan with some of the circumstances that he’s gone through. And he’s played really good football when he’s had to go out and play.”

What About Matt LaFleur?

Love took over as the starter in 2023. In SI’s coach-quarterback rankings, the Packers ranked:

• 22nd before the 2023 season, with Love 25th and LaFleur 10th.

• 5th before the 2024 season, with Love eighth and LaFleur fifth.

• 13th before the 2025 season, with Love 14th and LaFleur 10th.

Now, after a disastrous ending to last season with five consecutive losses – all of which, of course, coincided with Parsons’ injury – LaFleur has moved up one notch in the coach rankings.

LaFleur trails only the Rams’ Sean McVay, the Chiefs’ Andy Reid, the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, the Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, the Broncos’ Sean Payton, the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel, the Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh and the Giants’ John Harbaugh. They rank first through eight, respectively.

It’s a lofty mark for LaFleur, who was given a contract extension after speculation raged about his job security following an epic playoff collapse to the rival Bears. Of the coaches ranked above LaFleur, only Jim Harbaugh hasn’t reached a Super Bowl. LaFleur, meanwhile, has only one playoff win in the last five seasons.

“Frankly, the fact that I was being asked” about firing LaFleur, “I was a little bit shocked by that,” team president and CEO Ed Policy said at the owners meetings.

“I was brought up and I've always believed that you don't make football decisions out of emotion,” the son of former 49ers and Browns executive Carmen Policy added. “You have to be methodical about it, and if you've got seven years of data points to draw on with Matt. Why wouldn't you draw on all the data you have about an individual before making a decision? I don't believe in making emotional decisions based on one game or a series of games.”

Rest of NFC North

Matt LaFleur is deemed the best coach in the NFC North. In the rankings, LaFleur is ahead of his chief nemesis, the Bears’ Ben Johnson, who is 10th. Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell is 12th and Detroit’s Dan Campbell is 15th.

Added together, while Love-LaFleur rank fifth, the Bears’ Johnson and Caleb Williams are ninth (up from 27th last year), the Lions’ Campbell and Jared Goff are 12th (down from 11th) and the Vikings’ O’Connell and Kyler Murray are 20th (down from 18th).

Williams and Johnson are a “dynamic” duo, Verderame wrote.

“With Johnson and Williams entering their second season together, and with an offense loaded with stars, including tight end Colston Loveland and wideout Rome Odunze, there’s no limit on what can be accomplished.”