Acme Packing Company
In the 36 hours or so since the Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears, practically the only topic on the minds of Packers fans has been the fate of head coach Matt LaFleur. Monday morning came with some anticlimactic news, however, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Packers are “expected to try to work out a deal” with LaFleur.
That signifies the franchise’s intent for him to remain as the head coach in 2026, but it absolutely leaves the door open for a parting of ways between the two sides. What does a contract extension that works for both sides even look like? You can bet that there will be some hard discussions about the length of a deal, and we already knew that money is likely to be a sticking point.
Even if LaFleur returns, however, the rest of his coaching staff should look significantly different. With the team generally expecting defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to get a head coaching job elsewhere — though the fourth quarter on Saturday was hardly a shining example of why he should have one — that’s one coordinator that could need to be replaced. And if the team insists on some wholesale changes under LaFleur, they could be looking at changes at the heads of all three phases.
But it all starts with LaFleur and whether or not he and Packers CEO Ed Policy can come to an agreement. Look for news on that front sometime this week, but don’t be surprised if it takes a few days.
Of course, before this morning’s news broke, members of the local and national media were split on whether the Packers should stick with LaFleur. Today’s curds feature a look at the arguments on both sides as we begin what could be a long, tedious wait for the results of the contract negotiations.
10 things learned from Matt LaFleur’s season-ending news conference | Packers.com
LaFleur said he would be meeting with Policy on either Sunday night or sometime Monday. Given the timing of the Schefter report, it seems like that meeting has taken place and the two sides will be talking contract details in the coming days.
Packers can’t continue like this, should let Matt LaFleur go | Packersnews.com
Tom Silverstein wrote this piece in the immediate aftermath of the loss on early Sunday morning and though it may seem like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, it’s really a position he takes after seeing playoff failure after playoff failure over the last seven years.
NFL wild-card playoffs: What went wrong for five losing teams? | ESPN
The national media is a bit more forgiving of LaFleur, however, with Bill Barnwell advocating for keeping him around and shaking up the assistant coaching staff.
The case for and against Packers keeping Matt LaFleur as head coach | Packers Wire
Here’s a pretty succinct breakdown of both sides of the argument.
[Packers Kicker Gave Saddest Quote After Missing Multiple Key Kicks in Loss to Bears...
