GREEN BAY, Wis. – Entering Year 5 as coach of the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur had fashioned a regular-season record of 47-19.
Among all coaches in NFL history with 50 games on the resume, LaFleur’s .712 winning percentage was the fourth-best all-time. Who was ahead of him? Guy Chamberlin (.784), John Madden (.750) and Vince Lombardi (.738). Hall of Famers, one and all.
This season, the Packers are 2-5. Nobody thought the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love would be easy, but the team’s four-game losing streak shows a team that has made little, if any, tangible progress.
At BetOnline, LaFleur is +650 to be the first coach fired this season. Only the Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh McDaniels (+200), who is coming off a dismal loss at the Detroit Lions and can’t get All-Pro receiver Davante Adams the ball, has longer odds.
The Washington Commanders’ Ron Rivera (+250) is next, followed by the Chicago Bears’ Matt Eberflus (+320), LaFleur and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Brandon Staley (+1000)
The Packers are headed the wrong way – a fact that goes beyond this year’s struggles.
During his first three seasons on the job, LaFleur led the Packers to seasons of 13-3 and the NFC Championship Game in 2019, 13-3, the No. 1 seed and the NFC Championship Game in 2020 and 13-4 and the No. 1 seed in 2021. While the Packers stumbled in the playoffs each year – including homefield losses in 2020 and 2021 – at least LaFleur put the Packers in position. In fact, the Packers became the first team in NFL history with three consecutive seasons of 13-plus wins.
Following the offseason trade of Davante Adams, the 2022 Packers started 4-8 before a late-season rally that fell short in another homefield loss, this time to Detroit, in Week 18.
Following the offseason trade of Rodgers, the 2023 Packers started 2-1 but have crumbled.
From Game 4 through Game 7, Green Bay is 28th with 15.0 points per game and 29th in point differential (minus-34).
It’s not all Love’s fault. However, after throwing six touchdowns vs. zero interceptions in the first two games, Love among the 34 quarterbacks with at least 80 attempts since the start of Week 3 ranks:
