The Green Bay Packers ended their long-term marriage with Head Coach Mike McCarthy on the heels of losing to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12 this past season.
McCarthy is certainly well respected around the NFL as a Head Coach, but delivering only one Super Bowl with arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game is a travesty. Because of this lack of success, he was fired mid-season and the Packers began the search for a new Head Coach.
Many names were thrown around as candidates for this coveted position and the chance to work closely with Aaron Rodgers. Names such as Josh McDaniels, the Patriots Offensive Coordinator, who would’ve brought the same system Tom Brady has been in for years…
Adam Gase, the former Miami Dolphins Head Coach and Bears Offensive Coordinator, was another candidate who would’ve brought experience and offensive mastery to the table.
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However, ultimately the Packers went in the direction of a Sean McVay disciple…
Packers Hired Matt LaFleur As Head Coach
Right now in the NFL, the trend is heading towards dynamic offenses and putting up points. No one has excelled in that department more than Rams Head Coach Sean McVay over the past two years…
McVay excelled in an Offensive Coordinator position in Washington for several years before being hired as the Rams Head Coach in 2017. He assembled a coaching staff that brought the Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Coach Matt LaFleur over to help guide the offense.
Lafleur was McVay’s Offensive Coordinator in 2017, but he wasn’t responsible for calling plays due to McVay running the offense. When the opportunity presented itself in 2018, LaFleur transitioned to the Tennessee Titans to take on the same role.
This role gave him complete command of the offense…however, the results did not necessarily warrant any high praise.
The Titans finished 27th overall in Offensive Points Scored and 25th overall in Total Offensive Yards.
These aren’t numbers that necessarily jump off the page and scream Head Coaching material, however, the Packers believed that LaFleur was the right man for the job and they made the hire.
Unfortunately, they neglected to tell him…
Adam Schefter Broke The News To Lafleur That He’d Been Hired
Adam Schefter, respected journalist and NFL Insider, is extremely well connected in the NFL and is constantly breaking news before anyone else can get to it.
Typically this involves player injuries, trades, etc. But apparently Schefter is so well connected that he knows about coaching hires before the coaches themselves…
Adam Schefter was the guy who broke the news to Matt LaFleur that he was hired as the Green Bay Packers Head Coach https://t.co/VzbfhzyPqT pic.twitter.com/qyc9in3k3Z
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 28, 2019
Regardless of whether or not LaFleur feels slighted by the lack of prompt communication, it’s certainly not the right way to start a successful work relationship.
Will the Packers rise above the dysfunction that has plagued them for years ever since the Super Bowl ring in 2011? Or is this a sign that things haven’t changed much with the firing of Mike McCarthy?
All eyes will be on LaFleur this offseason and how he adjusts to not only leading a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, but leading an entire team…will he be the next Sean McVay and take the Packers to the Super Bowl like his mentor? Or will we see offensive numbers more like his stint in Tennessee?
Only time will tell, but there’s no doubting the dysfunction within the Green Bay front office.
And we’re all for it.
