Packers to hire Matt LaFleur as head coach, per report
The Green Bay Packers look to have found their next head coach.
After interviewing about a million different candidates over the past week, the Packers have reportedly made their decision at head coach.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Monday that the Packers have offered the job to Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.
Hiring an offensive-minded coach makes sense. Green Bay’s offense fell well short of expectations in 2018, and the hope is a new coach will help lead a quick turnaround and help Aaron Rodgers get back to his MVP best.
LaFleur could be the man to do it. While he has no head coaching experience, he has been the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams the past two seasons.
The Rams had the No. 1 scoring offense under LaFleur in 2017. How much of that was on LaFleur, and how much on head coach Sean McVay? That’s the big question.
LaFleur became the OC in Tennessee last offseason but the results weren’t as strong. The Titans finished 25th in total offense and 27th in scoring offense.
But it’s worth noting that starting quarterback Marcus Mariota missed time due to injury, and backup Blaine Gabbert played in eight games and started three.
There was no shortage of interest in the Packers job, with offensive-minded candidates including Josh McDaniels and Adam Gase. The fact president Mark Murphy made the decision so quickly says a lot about what Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst thought about LaFleur’s interview and body of work.
It remains to be seen what this means for the assistant coaches, but Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported that Mike Pettine is expected to remain the defensive coordinator under LaFleur, which is great news. The defense now gets to build on 2018 in their second season in Pettine’s defense.
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What are your thoughts on the LaFleur hire?