As hard as it may be to believe, Matt LaFleur is set to enter his eighth season with the Green Bay Packers, who hired him away from the Tennessee Titans ahead of the 2019 campaign. And the Michigan native quickly made the organization look good for bringing him to Titletown.
For starters, in his regular-season debut, he went on the road and took down the Chicago Bears, which obviously endeared him to Cheeseheads everywhere. But beyond just that, LaFleur went 13-3 in each of his first three seasons, thus making him the first head coach in NFL history to lead his team to three straight years of 13 wins or more, with those 39 victories giving him the most for any head coach in their first three campaigns. He also led the Packers to the NFC title game in his first two years, losing both, but he hasn't been back since.
To his credit, LaFleur transitioned nicely from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, and after missing the playoffs in Rodgers' final season with the club in 2022, Green Bay has made the playoffs in each of Love's three seasons as the starter.
But the postseason success just hasn't been there lately, and that's one of the big reasons why LaFleur was one of six head coaches named by PFF as being on the unwanted "hot seat" heading into the upcoming 2026 season.
PFF put Matt LaFleur on the 'hot seat' for his inability to close games and seasons strongly
Now, we will say that PFF took this group of six and broke them up, with the first four seemingly being in danger of losing their jobs during the season, those being the New York Jets' Aaron Glenn, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Todd Bowles, the Cincinnati Bengals' Zac Taylor, and the Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen.
Then, there were two in what was called the "Worth Monitoring in January" section, those being the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni and LaFleur. And that's certainly where he belongs.
When it comes to the regular season, LaFleur's 76-40-1 record gives him a solid .654 winning percentage, which is good for the 16th-best all-time among those who've coached at least 50 games. But his 3-6 postseason record certainly leaves a bit to be desired.
And that sixth playoff loss was naturally brought into the conversation by PFF, as the Packers embarrassingly blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter this past January in a 31-27 loss to Chicago in the Wild Card Round. The four straight losses to close out the regular season, which included blowing another game against the Bears, certainly didn't help either.
We won't give you PFF's full assessment, but here's the portion that gets the point across.
"The issue for LaFleur has been closing both games and seasons strongly. After Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in Week 15, Green Bay lost five straight matchups, including blowing multiple double-digit leads against Chicago in the fourth quarter. Similarly, not winning a playoff game since 2023 looms large.
"The Packers look like NFC contenders yet again as they bring back a strong group with All-Pro-caliber players across the field. The issue may not be reaching the postseason, but what happens when that arrives. If LaFleur can't end his playoff win drought, it wouldn't be stunning to see the franchise make a move — and instantly render LaFleur one of the most sought-after candidates on the market."
There were some who thought LaFleur would get the heave-ho after that heartbreaking loss to the Bears back in January, especially since he had just one year remaining on his contract. Instead, however, the Packers gave him a new deal and also extended the contracts of general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president Russ Ball.
It'll be interesting to see what transpires if the Packers do indeed suffer another first-round loss or fail to make the postseason at all, but LaFleur, every Green Bay player, and every Cheesehead around the world are hoping the organization won't have that decision to make.
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