Packers fans get it. It's about time the rest of the league caught up. All Matt LaFleur does is win.
Three division titles. Five playoff appearances in six seasons, and well on his way to making it six in seven. Only the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have won more games since he became the Green Bay Packers' head coach in 2019.
Yet here we are. LaFleur is rarely even in the conversation for the NFL Coach of the Year award. The winners since LaFleur arrived in Green Bay? John Harbaugh. Kevin Stefanski. Mike Vrabel. Brian Daboll. Stefanski. Kevin O'Connell. Many offseason coach rankings, including this one from PFF in June, didn't even feature LaFleur in the top 10 of returning head coaches.
But LaFleur is winning again, yet another reminder of why he is an elite coach. His Packers are 5-1-1, leading the NFC, and one of just two teams with only one loss. But it's still not enough to join the Coach of the Year conversation. Per DraftKings, LaFleur has the 13th(!)-best odds to win the award. We'll get to that in a moment. For now, though, let's do some mythbusting.
Matt LaFleur destroyed the myth that he only won because he had Aaron Rodgers
In LaFleur's first three years, he guided Green Bay to a 39-10 record, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win at least 13 games for three consecutive seasons. He led the Packers to three straight NFC North crowns, while Aaron Rodgers doubled his MVP tally from two to four.
Oh, but he has Aaron Rodgers. Of course he's going to win that many games. That argument conveniently forgets Mike McCarthy never achieved that with Rodgers, nor Bill Belichick with Tom Brady, nor Sean Payton with Drew Brees, nor, still to this day, Andy Reid with Patrick Mahomes.
None of those great coaches could do it. LaFleur could.
Then Rodgers left, and the winning... continued?! LaFleur guided Jordan Love and the league's youngest roster to a 9-8 record and a road playoff win in 2023. Then 11 more wins in 2024. This season, he has five wins in seven attempts.
Not only did LaFleur win without Rodgers, but he won without Love. We're seeing the impact of quarterback injuries around the league this season. The Ravens just went 1-2 without Lamar Jackson. The Bengals have collapsed to a 1-5 record in games without Joe Burrow. The Commanders are 1-2 without Jayden Daniels.
The Packers' record with Malik Willis? 2-0. He then came off the bench and guided them to another victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And let's not forget that the Packers had only traded for Willis 14 days before he made his first start.
During his two-year stay in Tennessee, Willis completed 53 percent of his passes for 350 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 49.4 rating. The Titans traded him for a seventh-round pick. In Green Bay, he has completed 74.1 percent of passes for 550 yards, three touchdowns, no picks, and a 124.8 passer rating.
That's LaFleur. He didn't just win with Rodgers. He is still winning without him, and last week won against Rodgers.
Matt LaFleur turned Aaron Rodgers back into an MVP, and Jordan Love into a star
LaFleur didn't just benefit from having Rodgers, he made him better.
After winning MVP in 2014, Rodgers' elite-level play became a little more pedestrian, at least by his ridiculously high standards. In the final four years of the Mike McCarthy era, Rodgers threw for 14,366 yards, 112 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions, for a 98.2 rating. Still elite numbers, but Rodgers lacked his MVP consistency.
Then LaFleur arrived. In the next four seasons, Rodgers threw for 16,111 yards, 137 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions, for a 104.7 rating. That included a stunning 48-touchdown, five-interception season in 2020. Rodgers took home consecutive MVP awards.
Now, he is doing the same for Love.
In Love's first 39 starts since replacing Rodgers in 2023, he has thrown for 9,346 yards, 70 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions, for a 99.2 rating. He is outpacing Rodgers and Brett Favre after the same number of starts in their respective careers.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell might be the quarterback whisperer, but LaFleur helps his quarterbacks sing.
Matt LaFleur is proving his doubters wrong, but the latest odds still don't favor him
So, what's the excuse now?
LaFleur's Packers lead the NFC, Love is playing at an MVP level, and, yet again, they are Super Bowl contenders. But as we discussed earlier, the latest odds have him 13th for NFL Coach of the Year.
Some of the names ahead of him? Shane Steichen. Fine, his Colts are 7-1, and he has turned Daniel Jones into an MVP contender. Mike Vrabel, Mike Macdonald, and Kyle Shanahan? Again, OK, they belong in the conversation.
But, Dan Campbell? Sean McVay? Liam Coen?! Ben Johnson?! Yes, they all have better odds.
LaFleur beat Campbell and holds a better record than McVay. Coen exceeded expectations to a point, but his Jaguars are 4-3 and have been outscored 55-19 over their past two games.
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And Johnson sitting ahead of LaFleur is borderline embarrassing. While he has improved Chicago's offense, the upgrade hasn't been drastic.
After seven games last season, the Bears held a 4-3 record, while Caleb Williams had thrown for 1,448 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. But he was being held back by Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron, right?
Now finally unlocked under Johnson's guidance, the Bears are 4-3 through seven games, while Williams has thrown for 1,636 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions. Uhh, that sounds like more of the same?
According to SumerSports, the Bears have an EPA/pass of 0.07, ranking 13th, up slightly from minus-0.09 last year, ranking 24th. They are barely better in EPA/rush (minus-0.06 in 2024 to minus-0.05 in 2025).
Meanwhile, the Lions are doing just fine without Johnson leading their offense. They are still averaging 30.7 points per game, the league's third-best, while sitting 5-2.
What more does LaFleur have to do? Since he arrived in Green Bay, we've seen head coaches rise and fall. Quarterbacks, like C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels, have become the next big thing but then regress. We've seen quarterbacks like Caleb Williams fall short of expectations while analysts use every excuse imaginable.
Then there is LaFleur, who just keeps winning football games. He wins with Rodgers. He wins with Love. He even wins with Willis.
Vince Lombardi is the only Packers coach to hit 50 victories faster than LaFleur. He is 72-34-1 since replacing McCarthy in 2019 — only Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs and Josh Allen's Bills have a better record.
Packers fans get it. LaFleur is elite. But for whatever reason, despite consistently proving his doubters wrong, he is still the most disrespected head coach in football.