Packers’ Matt LaFleur addresses job-security chatter after ‘MNF’ loss to Eagles
from Zac Wassink, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Chatter regarding the futures of head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst hovered over the Green Bay Packers long before the club fell to 5-3-1 on the season via a frustrating 10-7 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) on Monday night.
Following that defeat, LaFleur was asked if he thinks he’s coaching for his job through at least Week 18.
Is Matt LaFleur worried about losing his job?
“I’ll leave that for everybody else to decide,” LaFleur responded, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I’ll just focus on the day-to-day … 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.”
Both LaFleur and Gutekunst are under contract through next season. Still, Packers president/CEO Ed Policy raised eyebrows when he said this past June that he is “generally opposed to a coach or GM going into the last year of their contract.”
Meanwhile, LaFleur has never won multiple playoff games during a single postseason tournament since he accepted the job in 2019. The Packers haven’t played in a conference championship game since January 2021.
Jordan Love admits harsh truth about Packers offense
Back in Week 3, the Packers suffered a 13-10 loss at a Cleveland Browns side that is currently 2-7. Before the Carolina Panthers notched a 16-13 win over Green Bay on Nov. 2, both LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love insisted the Packers wouldn’t be looking ahead toward the “Monday Night Football” matchup versus the Eagles.
After the Packers’ latest loss, Love acknowledged that the team’s offense has been “letting the defense down” during portions of the campaign.
“I know as a defense, they definitely have every reason to look at us and say, ‘What are you guys doing? You guys need to figure it out and help us out and put up some more points,’ because they’re doing a great job,” Love added, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “It’s frustrating, but we’ll stay together. We’ll keep the energy high and find ways to get better and be better as an offense.”
On paper, the Packers should have a get-right spot on their schedule this coming Sunday when they play at a New York Giants (2-8) side that fired head coach Brian Daboll on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had Green Bay as a 7.5-point favorite for that contest.