James Jones gets it. He experienced it all with the Green Bay Packers.
The highest of highs. Super Bowl glory, division titles, and playoff wins. Yet also the darkest of days. The heartbreaking playoff collapses, the season-enders. Since retiring, Jones has continued to show nothing but love for his former team.
But like many Packers fans, he feels change is needed. Appearing on late-night sports show Speakeasy immediately after Green Bay's humiliating playoff defeat to the Chicago Bears, Jones gave a brutally honest assessment of LaFleur's future.
He called LaFleur a "heck of a head coach," but feels his time could be over in Green Bay.
"After this game, they were supposed to meet about a contract extension. I don't know how you still have that meeting, and you talk about an extension," said Jones. "The way the Packers have finished the last couple of years, losing so many close games. You get into the playoffs. At halftime, you have a 21-3 lead, not against a team that's better than you, against a team that you are better than."
"It's going to be a different conversation. I think Coach LaFleur, his seat just got real hot on that bus," Jones added. "When Gutey talks to him at that meeting, I don't know how you let him walk back in the room."
James Jones believes Matt LaFleur could be facing Packers exit after playoff heartbreak
Jones mentioned that LaFleur will meet with the Packers about a contract extension. That report came from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who said there was mutual interest between the team and LaFleur. But that was before this game, before the nightmare had unfolded. It could be a different story now.
LaFleur's Packers have always had a tendency to implode when the going gets tough, especially when the stakes are highest.
In November, shortly after the Packers' Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions. Ty Dunne of Go Long wrote a fascinating piece on LaFleur and how, in previous seasons, he could hesitate in key moments. Not only would LaFleur second-guess his play calls, creating delays in communication, but often his decisions wouldn't go down well.
"That play call often left many perplexed, too," writes Dunne. "On critical third downs in critical games, the player explains, LaFleur would 'freeze up.' Absolute bangers perfected during the week of practice never saw the light of day. Other times, LaFleur overanalyzed and overcomplicated things."
It's a fantastic piece, offering a positive perspective on why LaFleur had potentially overcome that problem in 2025. But the article hits hard after this game. It sounds so familiar, given what we saw late in the game at Soldier Field.
With 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Packers leading by three points and facing a 3rd-and-10 at the Bears' 21-yard line, the play clock drained all the way down and LaFleur had to burn a timeout. Even after that additional time, the Packers still took a delay-of-game penalty, pushing them back five yards. Brandon McManus missed a field goal moments later.
How is that possible?
The Packers need to be careful because change doesn't guarantee better results. They'd need to feel extremely confident in their potential successor. Is it John Harbaugh? Kevin Stefanski? Even Jeff Hafley? Would any of those coaches guarantee better results? Of course not.
But after seven seasons, including three with Jordan Love, it could be time.
Mike McCarthy's teams never truly recovered from the 2014 NFC title game debacle, in which Jones was a part of. That's not to say LaFleur will suffer the same fate, but this loss will be awfully tough to bounce back from. It will hurt forever.
The Packers face a massive decision, and one they must get right.