Following another disappointing end to a season, the Green Bay Packers waited a couple of weeks before giving head coach Matt LaFleur a contract extension.
The 46-year-old has been in charge of the team since replacing Mike McCarthy in 2019, logging a 74-60-1 (.654) regular-season record and a 3-6 postseason record that has prompted criticism and doubts about his ability to lead this team when it matters the most.
Nevertheless, that’s not how Jordan Love feels about him. When asked about LaFleur’s new deal, the former first-round pick had nothing but good things to say about his head coach:
“Being able to keep Matt around is awesome, and I’m very happy about that,” the quarterback told Kyle Malzahn of WFRV. “It’s a lot to learn a whole new system and new terminology. As a quarterback, being in the same system, the same terminology, it definitely helps me out.”
LaFleur and Love will enter their seventh season together. Only Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have a longer-standing relationship in the league right now (9 years).
Love replaced Aaron Rodgers as the starter ahead of the 2023 season. He’s been a bit of a mixed bag, but he’s gotten better in each season, and the Packers seem committed to him for the long run.
The Packers were considered one of the teams to beat after acquiring Micah Parsons last season, but inconsistency, an overly conservative game plan at times, and injuries derailed their once-promising season.
Now, Parsons is expected to miss the first stretch of the season, and there might be some regression with defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley leaving to coach the Miami Dolphins.
Even so, the Packers should have all the resources they need to make another postseason run this season, and LaFleur will be under a lot of pressure to finally get the monkey off his back.
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