New reporting detail reinforces why the Packers have little choice but to prioritize keeping Matt LaFleur long term
President Ed Policy has a big decision to make.
The Green Bay Packers have a big question to answer in the offseason. New president Ed Policy decided to allow head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst to work one extra year before making a decision about extending their contracts.
LaFleur and Gutekunst’s deals go through 2026, so next offseason is paramount to determine what will happen.
According to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Tom Silverstein, Gutekunst’s situation is smoother. The general manager has amassed a lot of talent on the roster and will likely get an extension — the big question mark here is if he will have a say over the head coach like his predecessors had, or if Policy will keep the new three-headed structure behind the president built by Mark Murphy.
Why LaFleur’s extension is trickier
Matt LaFleur, though, has more leverage than Gutekunst because of the perception of his work around the league. This is what Silverstein wrote:
“If LaFleur were available the day after the Packers’ season ended this year, he would have a new job in less than a week. He would instantly be the best available offensive head coach and could almost name his price in Tennessee, New York (Giants) and Arizona.”
Ultimately, those are strong arguments to keep him around. While the Packers haven’t won a Super Bowl with LaFleur just yet, they’ve made the playoffs six out of seven times, reached the NFC Championship Game twice, and had a top 10 offense by DVOA every year — that happened in the middle of a transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love and with the youngest roster in football in each of the past three years.
LaFleur would want a longer-term extension, making something around $15 million per year. But money for coaches, since it doesn’t impact the salary cap, shouldn’t even be a consideration to determine whether a team will keep its leader or not.
It’s not like LaFleur doesn’t deserve any type of criticism — there are some fair ones to make, like his frequent conservatism at times and some questionable personnel decisions. But LaFleur is still easily a top 10 head coach, maybe better than that, and he’s shown capabilities to manage any type of roster.
Alternatives on the market
If the Packers were to move on from LaFleur, it’s hard to project better candidates — and that’s why Silverstein mentioned that LaFleur would easily get another head coaching job in this cycle.
The most natural option would be promoting defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, but that brings obvious questions about the offensive plan. If the offense works, the new coordinator would soon leave to be a head coach elsewhere. This is the big reason for teams to prefer offensive-minded head coaches for the most part. Hafley is seen as a top HC candidate, according to ESPN, and the New York Giants is a realistic landing spot.
On the offensive side, the top candidate could be Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, but there’s zero guarantee he would be a real improvement.
Matt LaFleur is about to become one of the highest-paid head coaches, and it’s obvious why — he’s in fact a top coach and deserves more recognition for the work he’s put in.
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