The Green Bay Packers have had some changes after the 2025 season, but they made it clear that one of them would not involve head coach Matt LaFleur. New team president Ed Policy decided to keep LaFleur around after the Packers finished the season on a five-game losing streak, and the decision has Packers fans torn over the direction of the franchise.
One notable person who isn’t concerned is quarterback Jordan Love. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (via WFRV's Kyle Malzhan) for the first time since LaFleur signed a multi-year contract extension, Love expressed a vote of confidence toward his coach, noting how the continuity would help them succeed going into the future.
"“(LaFleur has) been my head coach since I got here. That’s the coach that drafted me... I’ve done this in college where the coaches leave and you’re in a new system and it’s tough. It’s a lot to be able to learn. A whole new scheme, a whole new system and terminology. So for a quarterback to be able to stay in the same system and keep the same terminology, it definitely helps me, helps my teammates out that we get to hit the ground running (when) we get to OTAs and build off the past couple of years."Jordan Love, Packers QB
While Love’s comments make sense, they also don’t change LaFleur’s challenge with the new contract to validate the faith the Packers have placed in him to lead this team into the future.
Matt LaFleur Must Make Changes to Validate Packers’ Faith This Season
LaFleur’s previous success was a big selling point to keep him in Green Bay. Since he entered the league in 2019, only the Kansas City Chiefs (84) and Buffalo Bills (83) have more wins than LaFleur’s 76. He also ranks fourth in franchise history with a .654 winning percentage, and he’s helped turn Love into a franchise quarterback.
To further Love’s point, continuity can be a good thing. While his consistency was a major knock on his draft stock entering the 2020 draft, he also had two different head coaches (Matt Wells, Gary Anderson) and three different offensive coordinators (Josh Heupel, David Yost, Mike Sanford Jr.) that complicated his development.
Long story short, LaFleur’s extension comes from the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” method of thinking. While that may work for most franchises in the NFL, the Packers have a higher bar that LaFleur hasn’t been able to clear.
LaFleur started his career well with back-to-back appearances in the NFC Championship Game. But he lost both and has gone 2-6 in the playoffs, including losses in five of his last six games. The last one came last January when he blew a 24-7 lead at halftime against the Chicago Bears, and many thought it was an indication that changes should be made.
While defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left, it was to be the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Most of the changes on the defensive end came because of Hafley’s departure, and the offensive staff remained in place, including offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and offensive line coach Luke Butkus.
If special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia hadn’t resigned in February, he would have returned as well, giving the Packers a 'run it back' type of feel for a team that has been the No. 7 seed in the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
Then there’s the in-game management, conservative play-calling, and passive defense that have been an issue over the past three years, which made a large group of fans want something to change this offseason. Instead, the Packers pushed more chips into the table, which makes everyone wonder where they go from there.
The Packers should have a team that contends for a championship next season. But it won’t matter if LaFleur makes the same mistakes that have kept them from recapturing the Lombardi Trophy over his first seven seasons.
A few things have changed off the field since last season ended, but unless something changes on it, Packers fans will wonder why their team and their quarterback keep putting so much stock into their head coach.