Packers tap LaFleur as head coach
The Green Bay Packers were the first team to fill their head coaching vacancy on Monday when they hired former Titans OC Matt LaFleur to be the 15th head coach in franchise history.
Looking at LaFleur’s past, he has worked with some of the youngest and brightest minds in all of football. LaFleur started in the NFL as the Redskins QB coach, helping guide fourth round pick Kirk Cousins to become one of the top players at his position. After a brief stint at Notre Dame, he returned to the NFL as the Falcons QB coach, leading Matt Ryan to an MVP season and the Super Bowl. From there, Lafleur rejoined his old friend Sean McVay in LA as the OC for the No. 1 ranked Rams offense in 2017, and played a huge part in the development of Jared Goff.
After an incredible 2017 season, LaFleur was in high demand around the league, and even got a couple HC interviews before settling on becoming the Titans OC for the 2018 season. With little talent and a slew of offensive injuries, LaFleur still helped this offense find its identity on the ground late in the year and were only one win away from being a playoff team.
Looking ahead to the 2019 season, LaFleur will have his work cut out for him in Green Bay even with inheriting an offense that is full of talent. How will he work with Aaron Rodgers? Will he feed Aaron Jones the way he fed Derrick Henry down the stretch last year? And, most importantly, will he bring the Packers back to the playoffs after a painful two year hiatus? Unfortunately, it will be some time before we know exactly how he wants to run this team and most importantly the offense.
Looking at last year, LaFleur’s only season as a play caller, it’s very clear that he wants to establish a good run game with plenty of play action mixed in as well. Another facet of the LaFleur offense that I love is his emphasis on quick one to three step drop backs, which will get the ball out of Rodgers hands and into his playmakers as fast as possible. A common thread throughout Rodgers career is how long he holds the football looking to create big plays, while Rodgers may be the best in the league at doing this, it also puts him at a higher risk of injury. Taking that into consideration, I would expect the Packers to have a strong commitment to the running game with a perfect balance of quick strikes and deep play action bombs as well.
We still have no idea if this was the right hire or not, but with new leadership and a new offensive philosophy I think the Packers are in store for a breakout 2019 season.
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