During his first six seasons with the Green Bay Packers, head coach Matt LaFleur has set several franchise and NFL records, a few of which we'll circle back to in just a moment.
But it appears he's under the assumption that he can set another in 2025. At least that's what it sounded like.
LaFleur was recently a guest on the Up & Adams show and was incorrectly told by host Kay Adams that he could set a new NFL record for the most wins by a head coach in his first seven seasons.
If you didn't watch the clip, here's exactly what was said.
Kay Adams: You know you can pass Don Shula for the most wins through a coach's first seven seasons? Do you know that?
Matt LaFleur: I did not know that.
Kay Adams: You can pa—I'm gonna say it again for you.
Matt LaFleur: Did you get that from Wikipedia?
Kay Adams: You can (laughing)—no. But it's true. No, I got that from like smart, intelligent producers, not my Google skills. You can pass Don freakin' Shula, Matthew, this year, for most wins through a coach's first seven seasons. You need five to break his record.
From there, LaFleur gave the classiest of responses, talking about how more games are played today and how much respect he has for the Shula family before giving props to the players, coaches, and staff that helped him get to this point.
So, here's the problem.
Adams was correct in telling LaFleur that he can pass Shula for regular-season wins by a head coach in his first seven years when the Packers get their fifth victory of the 2025 campaign.
LaFleur currently owns a 67-33 mark through six seasons, while Shula, the all-time winningest coach in league history, went 71-23-4 in his first seven NFL seasons with the Baltimore Colts before spending the remainder of his career with the Miami Dolphins.
Simple math tells us that 67+5=72, so it's accurate.
What's not accurate is Adams saying LaFleur would set a new NFL record. Because here's what the actual record holder, George Seifert, did in his first seven regular seasons as a head coach with the San Francisco 49ers after taking over for the legendary Bill Walsh in 1989.
- 1989: 14-2
- 1990: 14-2
- 1991: 10-6
- 1992: 14-2
- 1993: 10-6
- 1994: 13-3
- 1995: 11-5
Am I wrong, or does that come out to 86-26? And I'm no genius mathematician, but isn't 86 more than 71?
So, using the actual number, LaFleur obviously has no shot at this mark. Even if the Packers went 17-0 this year, he'd end the regular season at 84-33.
Now, this isn't meant to bash Kay Adams, as I honestly think she's phenomenal at what she does. This was simply a mistake. And perhaps when she said "record," she legit meant Shula's win-loss record, not an NFL record. But that's certainly not how it came across, not when "break his record" was said so emphatically.
And in her defense, she fully admitted that she received the information from a producer. Nevertheless, she's the host and maybe should've confirmed it before saying anything to LaFleur, who did actually surpass Seifert for the three-year record but won't be catching him for the seven-year mark.
Matt LaFleur did best George Seifert for the most wins by an NFL head coach in his first three seasons
Hired ahead of the 2019 campaign after spending a year as the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator, LaFleur went 13-3 in his first season with Green Bay, thus becoming the first rookie head coach in franchise history to win at least 10 games, make the playoffs, and win the division in the same season.
In leading the Packers to a second consecutive 13-3 mark in 2020, a year in which Aaron Rodgers won his third NFL MVP, LaFleur set a new franchise record for the most wins by a head coach in his first two seasons, surpassing Mike Sherman and Mike McCarthy, each of whom had 21.
Behind a second straight MVP campaign for Rodgers, the Packers went 13-4 in 2021, thus giving LaFleur the most wins of any head coach in his first three years with 39. As you saw above, Seifert went 38-10 in his first three seasons with the Niners.
So, at least LaFleur has that, right?