The Green Bay Packers' offense may have hit a new bottom this season. They've lost three games in which they've failed to score at least 17 points, and they've scored a grand total of 20 points in the past couple of weeks.
That has raised some doubts about Matt LaFleur's future with the organization. Some believe he might be coaching for his job for the remainder of the season, given that his play-calling has held the team back multiple times.
Usually this would just feel like way-too-early speculation. But the recent influx of head coaching buzz around Jeff Hafley could force the Packers to make a decision much earlier than they would like.
Matt LaFleur's Shaky Job Security is No Secret
Even LaFleur knows that there are conversations about his future taking place right now. When asked about that, however, the young head coach claimed that he's not going to read too much into that, and he'll just keep working:
"I'll leave that for everybody else to decide. I'll just focus on the day-to-day and try to do -- I feel like you're always coaching for everything in this league, you know? That's just my mindset. It's always been that way. You can't ever exhale. You gotta always be pushing. That's just my mindset and that will be my mindset 'til they tell me not to coach anymore," the coach said, per Packers insider Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
That's a fair approach, and he has earned some patience from the organization. But there's one factor, totally outside of his control, that could speed up the timeline on a decision.
Jeff Hafley Throws Major Wrinkle in LaFleur's Future
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has been a hot commodity in the league this season, and SNY insider Connor Hughes believes he could be a candidate to replace Brian Daboll as the New York Giants' head coach. It's no secret now that Hafley projects as a hot head coaching candidate this offseason. And losing both LaFleur and Hafley at the same time could be a bigger shakeup than the Packers are interested in.
As underwhelming as the Packers' offense has been at times, Hafley's defense has impressed. Consider how the stats stack up over his two years since taking over (bolded).
Season | Points Against (rank) | Yards against (rank) |
|---|---|---|
2019 | 20.7 (12th) | 353.9 (18th) |
2020 | 23.2 (15th) | 329.9 (7th) |
2021 | 21.3 (10th) | 321.7 (8th) |
2022 | 21.8 (16th) | 335.6 (16th) |
2023 | 21.4 (13th) | 345.4 (22nd) |
2024 | 20.0 (5th) | 313.2 (4th) |
2025 | 19.6 (7th) | 287.2 (5th) |
It would be unfair to say that Matt LaFleur isn't a good coach, and he'd probably land an offensive coordinator job ten minutes after being fired. That being said, the Packers are a team with perennial Super Bowl aspirations, and being 'pretty good' simply isn't enough. There's no room for sentimentality in the NFL.
If the Packers think Hafley could be their long-term answer at head coach, that means making a cutthroat decision with LaFleur needs to be a priority sooner rather than later.