In Week 4, Matt LaFleur was pissed. His team was being humbled at home in prime time by the Lions.
The loss to Detroit became the first of four in a row, sending the Packers from 2-1 to 2-5. The turning point came when the Packers upended the Lions on Thanksgiving.
Now, Green Bay is one more upset win away from potentially returning to Ford Field for a rubber match against the Lions.
There’s plenty of credit to go around as the Packers smoothly transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. When Favre gave way to Rodgers, the Packers went from the brink of the Super Bowl under Favre to out of the playoffs under Rodgers. This time around, the Packers have gone from out of the playoffs under Rodgers to the brink of the NFC Championship.
Coach Matt LaFleur deserves plenty of credit, both for what he’s done this year and what he did in the four prior seasons. Joined at the hip with a delicate genius, LaFleur had to tiptoe around a quarterback who, right out of the gates, used the media to win a tug-o-war over whether LaFleur would give Rodgers far more freedom to change the play at the line of scrimmage.
LaFleur also was caught between Rodgers and a front office he loathed, especially after the Packers traded up to draft Love without first seeking the advice and consent of Rodgers. LaFleur nevertheless presided over a pair of MVP regular seasons for Rodgers, even if the Packers failed to get back to the Super Bowl before Rodgers left.
Now, with Love thrust into the fray as Rodgers’s successor, Love is getting it done. He’s running the offense the way LaFleur designed it. And it’s working.
No, the Packers coach doesn’t get much credit for what he’s done. Maybe it’s the size of the market. Maybe it’s his propensity to keep quiet and focus on his job. Maybe people assume it was all Rodgers, even as Rodgers created distractions and caused headaches and played pandemic word games during his latter look-at-me days in Green Bay.
LaFleur won’t get many coach of the year votes this year. He should. (He was on my ballot.) By next year, it will be even harder for him to get serious consideration for the award, because the expectations will be far higher — making it even harder to sufficiently exceed them to get enough votes.
Regardless, LaFleur should be appreciated. He kept a powder keg from exploding before Rodgers left, and he has kept a young quarterback from imploding after replacing back-to-back Hall of Famers.
Even if the Packers lose tomorrow, they’ve got a winner in LaFleur.
