Matt LaFleur might be the most polarizing figure in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Only two coaches in NFL history have won as many games as LaFleur in their first seven seasons. He has led the Packers to the playoffs six times in seven attempts with two quarterbacks, producing consistency that isn't easily found in this league.
Yet his failure to take the Packers to that next level, a Super Bowl or, at the very least, a deep playoff run, has led to a divide among the fanbase. While hosting The Tundra podcast with former Packers Pro Bowler John Kuhn, The Athletic's Matt Schneidman gave a pretty blunt take on the pressure facing LaFleur.
"There are no excuses anymore," said Schneidman. "There is pressure mounting, I think at least from the fanbase, on LaFleur. Again, with Jordan Morgan, with (Lukas) Van Ness, it's time to put up or shut up. With LaFleur, it's time to put up or shut up."
"If he isn't able to live up to that, it may not cost him his job, but what good are you in Green Bay if you don't make a deep, deep run and win a championship? He's been here seven years. There is absolutely pressure on him to finally get over that hump."
Here's why the 'put up or shut up' stance on Matt LaFleur is off base
I get it. I totally get it, and was right there with the LaFleur frustration after the Packers' emotional playoff exit.
LaFleur's teams consistently reach the playoffs, but they keep falling at the same hurdle. They've entered the postseason three consecutive years as the seventh seed with only one victory to show for it.
Here's the biggest issue with the "put up or shut up" talk. OK, let's say the Packers fall short again and decide to make a change at head coach.
Who replaces LaFleur?
During the week of uncertainty following Green Bay's season-ending loss to Chicago, when it seemed up in the air whether LaFleur would return, it became painfully clear that he was the best choice for the job.
If the Packers had moved on, who should they have brought in? Many called for John Harbaugh, who ultimately became the New York Giants' head coach. Yet Harbaugh's teams have become the gold standard of fourth-quarter collapses and playoff failures.
Since Lamar Jackson's first MVP season in 2019, the Ravens are 76-41 in the regular season but 3-5 in the playoffs. They've failed to even reach the postseason twice in those seven years. In that same span, with Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, the Packers are 76-40-1 in the regular season and 3-6 in the playoffs.
At best, Harbaugh would've offered more of the same as LaFleur. But even that's not a guarantee.
If not Harbaugh, then who? Kevin Stefanski? Joe Brady? Jeff Hafley? Mike LaFleur? Any one of those candidates would've been a massive roll of the dice, and I'd argue Matt LaFleur would give the Packers a better shot at a Super Bowl than any of them.
LaFleur has a proven track record with quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers' career appeared to be steadily declining at the end of Mike McCarthy's tenure. Enter LaFleur, who helped Rodgers win two MVPs while leading the Packers to 39 wins in three seasons.
Then came Jordan Love, who has become one of the league's premier passers under LaFleur, while guiding Green Bay to the playoffs in all three seasons as a starter.
Even Malik Willis, whom the Tennessee Titans gave up on and traded away for a seventh-round pick, looked like a superstar in LaFleur's offense. It led to Willis signing a $67.5 million deal to become the Miami Dolphins' new QB1 this offseason.
There's simply no way the Packers would've sustained this kind of success and won 76 games with six playoff appearances without LaFleur.
It's not perfect, of course. LaFleur's approach has to change. There's no doubt about that. You simply can't lose playoff games from such a position of strength, having led 21-3 at Soldier Field in January. But the blame doesn't belong solely at LaFleur's feet. He tried to negotiate that second half as you'd expect, by running the football, killing the clock, and limiting time for a comeback.
Yet the offensive line play was so atrocious, so embarrassingly poor that the Packers could barely move two yards on the ground, forcing them to become one-dimensional. That's partly on LaFleur, but also squarely on Brian Gutekunst's shoulders for supplying LaFleur with an offensive line that fell well short of expectations.
Gutekunst, not LaFleur, signed Aaron Banks to a $77 million contract, a deal he surprisingly doubled down on this offseason by restructuring it. That all but guarantees Banks will remain on the roster for two more years. It's Gutekunst who just made Sean Rhyan one of the highest-paid centers in football.
That's a problem LaFleur will have to attempt to overcome again.
Yes, there's pressure on LaFleur and the Packers to take that next step. Wins are the only currency that matters.
But winning a championship isn't easy. Sean McVay has one Super Bowl win. Kyle Shanahan has zero. They've both competed in multiple Super Bowls, but winning them is the only thing that matters.
Schneidman made fair points in his conversation with Kuhn. The pressure is on LaFleur, and the fanbase does expect far more than a seventh seed and one-and-done playoff appearance. Totally understandable.
Yet calling it a "put up or shut up" season feels off base. What if the Packers reach the divisional round and then lose? Many will call for the Packers to fire LaFleur, but then what? Who replaces him? It's far more likely that Green Bay would regress with another head coach than improve.
Are expectations high? Of course. Is there a greater sense of frustration? Understandably. But the reality is that, for all his faults, LaFleur gives the Packers the best chance at making a run. Good luck finding a better coach.
While many consider this season a referendum on LaFleur's future, that's almost certainly not the case. He's back on a new contract and will remain in Green Bay for multiple years.
And, truly, the Packers have a better chance at winning with LaFleur than without him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google