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Rob Demowski
GREEN BAY, Wis.–LAST TIME green Bay Packers Whatever happened to the contracts of coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst, it happened in relative secrecy. This time it will not happen.
And it could happen soon, following the Packers 31-27 wild card loss till Chicago Bears Saturday.
Both LaFleur and Gutekunst received contract extensions at the beginning of the 2022 offseason, with vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball still the news was not leaked Until just before training camp in July that year.
It was never clear why then-team president Mark Murphy tried to keep it a secret, especially since pursuing it was no easy task. Gutekunst was hired as GM in 2018, a year before LaFleur became head coach, and he helped build teams that had a combined record of 45-19-1 to that point. This included a 39–10 mark under LaFleur. They were both heading into the final season of their contracts in the offseason.
The situation is less predictable now, especially when it comes to LaFleur. Each of their contracts expires after the 2026 season, but they now have a new boss in Ad Policy, who replaced Murphy as president in July.
If the policy were to lean toward bringing LaFleur back, Saturday’s playoff meltdown could complicate the situation. Or perhaps it could solidify his thinking if he were considering a coaching change. The Packers led by 18 points at halftime, gave up 25 points in the fourth quarter and were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
While the Packers made the playoffs for the sixth time in LaFleur’s seven seasons, their last three appearances have been as a wild-card team. They haven’t won the NFC North since 2021 and haven’t hosted a playoff game since a divisional-round loss san francisco 49ers On January 22, 2022.
LaFleur was hired in 2019 to get a quarterback aaron rodgers Back at MVP level, and the same thing happened. Rodgers won the award twice (2020 and 2021) under LaFleur. He was also accused of developing jordan loveJoe – three seasons into his career as a starter – appears to be their franchise quarterback.
How might things play out for Gutekunst and LaFleur in Green Bay this offseason, and what could it mean for the direction of the team in the coming years?
policy was second Murphy was on hand when Gutekunst and LaFleur were hired, and he sat in on interviews during the team’s search for a general manager and coach.
Shortly before Policy took charge last summer, he held a lengthy session with reporters covering the Packers and discussed, in broader terms, His philosophy on GMs and coachesAt the time, he said he would prefer not to hire people going into the final year of their contracts into those key positions,
“Generally speaking, I would avoid the lame-duck situation,” Neeti said. “It’s difficult at times for everyone involved. But there are some situations that probably require it, so I wouldn’t say never.”
The policy did not offer any contract extension before the season. Whether intentionally or not, this increased the scrutiny, especially on LaFleur. The first time his job was secured was in November after consecutive losses to the Panthers and Eagles, which dropped the Packers to 5–3–1.
“I’ll leave it up to everyone else to decide,” LaFleur said at the time. “I’ll just focus on the day-to-day. … I feel like you’re always coaching for everything in this league, you know? It’s just my mentality. It’s always been that way. You can never breathe. You’ve always got to keep pushing. That’s just my mentality and it’s going to be my mentality until they tell me not to coach anymore.”
During the season, the policy remained mostly in the background. Apart from continuing Murphy’s monthly column on the team’s website, in which he answered select questions from fans, the policy did not allow many people to express their views.
in his Latest Mailbag ColumnPublished on the eve of the regular season finale, the policy somewhat supported what the Packers did this season.
“I am extremely proud of how our team has faced many challenges,” Neeti wrote. “Last season we struggled in our division and this year we have improved to 4-1 [before losing to the Vikings in Week 18]“We persevered despite numerous injuries and an extremely challenging schedule and put ourselves in position to compete for our ultimate goal, a Super Bowl championship,”
Gutekunst and Lafleur There are no package deals. It is possible for a policy to maintain one without the other.
In that case, Gutekunst would appear to be standing on stronger ground. While the team president doesn’t make football-related decisions, Policy supported Gutekunst when he traded for the edge rusher in August Micah ParsonsTwo former high-ranking Packers employees said at the time of the trade that it was a sign that Gutekunst had confidence in the policy,
Team and league sources said the assumption is that if Gutekunst returns, he could do so with more power.
When Murphy hired Gutekunst in 2018, he stripped the GM of power over the coach and made both report directly to the president. This was a dramatic change in management philosophy that had occurred in the early 1990s, during which time GM had control over Koch. The policy would require GM to rewrite Gutekunst’s deal or sign a new contract to restore that power.
If Policy does so, it could turn the decision about LaFleur’s future over to Gutekunst.
Either way, the LaFleur situation could be more pressing, and there are several possible outcomes.
LaFleur could sign a lucrative, long-term extension. He may not be able to get the top money like $18 million to $20 million per year that the highest paid coaches in the league are believed to earn, but there is no doubt that he wants more than what he is making now, which is believed to be less than $10 million.
If policy is not willing to go to such heights, the situation could go one of several other ways. LaFleur could agree to a short-term extension that adds another year or two to his contract, or the policy could do nothing and go against his initial stance on lame-duck coaches. In the latter situation, LaFleur may have enough leverage to get his way, believing he can get another head coaching job.
There are other scenarios in which LaFleur could not possibly return. Policy could fire LaFleur, they could agree to mutually part ways or the team could trade him. This last option would be a way for the Packers to reclaim a first-round pick this year and next year after trading their No. 1 pick to the Cowboys in the Parsons trade.
In any of these situations, LaFleur would likely become one of the top head coaching candidates for vacancies across the league.
looking at lafleur With all the hard work, many teams could be thrilled with a 76-40-1 regular season record. His winning percentage (.654) is the fourth-best among active NFL head coaches and is tied for the second-most regular season wins by a coach in his first seven seasons in NFL history. But LaFleur is 37-30-1 over the last four regular seasons and is Won only one of five playoff games.
The policy may also have taken into account the intensity of injuries – they started the playoffs with 15 injured reserve players – which played a role in the decline at the end of the season. The Packers lost their final four games of the regular season, although LaFleur kept most of his starters out of the finals to rest them for the playoffs.
As far as LaFleur’s coaching staff, he may lose defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, whose defense ranked fifth and 12th in the NFL in his first two seasons. Hafley is expected to interview for several head coaching positions, including perhaps the Packers’ job if it opens up. Hafley is LaFleur’s third defensive coordinator, following Mike Pettine and Joe Barry.
LaFleur is also on his third special teams coordinator in Rich Bisaccia, whose units have remained inconsistent, and his second offensive coordinator in Adam Stanwich, who replaced Nathaniel Hackett.
Perhaps the policy will tell LaFleur to make changes to his staff or even stop calling offensive plays.
Asked after the game how he felt about becoming the Packers coach, LaFleur said, “It means everything to me. In my opinion, this is the greatest organization in the world. It’s very humbling. I’m definitely disappointed right now.”
“I’m disappointed for everyone associated with the Green Bay Packers. I’m disappointed for our locker room. I’m disappointed for our fans. I’m disappointed for our leadership, all of our staff, everyone associated with the Green Bay Packers at this time.”
Whatever happens, team sources expect a quick resolution and public announcement, unlike last time.
