Ahead of a Thursday night matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, it's worth taking stock of what the Green Bay Packers are right now. Especially coaching-wise. At face value, the Packers' Matt LaFleur is unquestionably one of the NFL's best head coaches. You don't win nearly 80 games and three division titles in seven-plus seasons if you don't know what you're doing.
But that's the thing. The Packers have an extremely high standard of excellence as one of the NFL's most historic franchises. They are seldom satisfied with just "good enough," if not a little shaky, which is kind of what the Packers have been in recent years. Green Bay has won double-digit games just once since Rodgers' departure in the 2023 offseason, and it also hasn't won a single
playoff game since 2023. The Packers' two most recent playoff appearances featured an all-out dismantling by the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and a crushing loss to the rival Chicago Bears after an alarming second-half collapse. That's, uh, not good!
This season, the Packers are only 1-1 after crumbling late to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and needing a double-digit comeback to beat the rebuilding New York Jets in Week 2. And do you know why the Packers have struggled? They have a porous offensive line and a weak defense, which might be the worst combination to have in pro football. Suffice it to say, for an organization that fancies itself amongst the league's elite, the Packers might be in for a tough season unless they really start to right the ship.
As constituted, I'm unsure LaFleur's job would survive such an outcome. For now, to be very clear, LaFleur's job is safe. But if the Packers aren't really in the playoff race come December, or if they collapse late down the stretch or in the playoffs again, we could be looking at a new head coach in Green Bay by the time the offseason rolls around.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Matt LaFleur on the hot seat with the Packers?
