Also at the wedding was Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who had the opportunity at the reception to lead Rodgers to the bar, offer him something strong and straight up, and make a pitch for Rodgers to come home with him. Its also a reason Rodgers was voted the leagues most valuable player the last two years. Davante knows how I feel about him, LaFleur says. He has been the force that keeps the team a team. He mentions Tom Clementswho just returned as the Packers quarterbacks coach and who coached him earlier in his careerand former quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, now the offensive coordinator in Cleveland, as people whove given him extremely granular tasks to improve on each day. (Its not.) The majority of us are vaxed, coaches, players. The Shanahan-McVay origins are what drew the Packers interest in LaFleur after firing McCarthy, knowing that maximizing the quarterback was going to be the most important piece of the puzzle. Five coaches in the 2019 hiring cycle have already departed their teams. Despite being from Michigan, he hated the cold (he cops to being soft), and Green Bay is a rough spot to feel that way. He sat with them, ate lunch and showed genuine interest in their interests. Most importantly, it takes these guys. And we're excited for him.". The more of it LaFleur gets, the more of it he gives. The interview was four hours and it felt like 15 minutes, Murphy said. The Packers enter this season with the second-best odds to win the NFC behind only the Buccaneers. Matt is a big part of that puzzle of why to get up every morning, Lewis said. You might see them greet them, but this was legitimately asking them questions, spending time with them.. 1 seed in their respective conferences this year, but both teams were defeated at home in the divisional round. When LaFleur was a kid, family members called him Matty. Three of his childhood friends still call him that. On ESPNs Jan. 3 Manningcast for Monday Night Football, Rodgers joked about his coachs eyebrows and hair and also pointed out his game-day attire has included Jordans, lululemon pants and a quarter-zip sweater. And quite frankly, I thought hed be great for myself as well. Best coach in the league, the man says to me. On the third-and-goal play from the 8 before the field goal, Rodgers threw an incompletion to Davante Adams instead of trying to run even though he appeared to have space. Matt LaFleur is one of the youngest coaches to lead an NFL team, and he put together an impressive season in 2020! LaFleur's first two teams finished 26 th and 29 th in special teams rankings, so he fired coordinator Shawn Mennenga after the 2020 campaign. This is their job and I expect them to come to work ready to play. Hes not confrontational, but hes not afraid of conflict, McDaniel said. It goes back to his communication and the relationships he built., After playing at Saginaw Valley State in University Center, Michigan, where he rewrote SVSU record books and led them to the Division II playoffs, LaFleur went to the Indoor Football Leaguea league for people who say, You keep playing until you cant, said Dan Ragsdale, who was both a quarterback and offensive coordinator for the IFLs Billings Outlaws in 2004. This only grew with time: LaFleur wanted to have direct conversations because he felt it was the only way to get the answers to his endless football curiosity. Im in Green Bay to find out why more people dont say that. Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers #12 meet in the fourth quarter against the Washington Football Team in the game at Lambeau Field on October 24, 2021 in Green Bay . FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2021, file photo, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, left, talks to Aaron Rodgers during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Chicago. Certainly, there are adjustments, LaFleur says. As head coach Matt LaFleur explained over the weekend, everyone knew what the situation was with Rodgers likely heading to New York. I just kept saying, I dont know, man, and he said, No were good. Then Id just keep saying, You sure? and hed say, Were good. It went on like this. But ahead of an all-important season, the fourth-year Packers . Go to where you feel you can get a big pass play. Im sure hes not gonna sit there saying, When I was with the Omaha Beef in 2003, I hit my fifth step like this but theres something to be said for a guy who understands the position, Ragsdale said of LaFleur. He also learned how everything ties together: Sometimes, he said, youll trade in a 3-yard pass in order to set up an explosive pass. Eberflus, 52, and LaFleur first faced off in 2017, when LaFleur ran the Rams' offense and Eberflus was the Cowboys' linebackers coach and passing-defense coordinator. Well, I dont know how productive it really is. I didnt understand exactly how to talk to him, and he didnt exactly understand how to talk to me, Rodgers says. And Rodgers. Congratulations, LaFleur. Rodgers agrees, saying he has seen LaFleur loosen up and worry less about the little things. Rodgers accuses LaFleur of having his wife, BreAnne, manicure those brows, which are dark, not too bushy and not too sparse. Now, the two former quarterbacks are reuniting in. Josiah Deguara, who had 13 catches for 114 yards last season, is the top tight end under contract. Aaron is a great player, said Mark Murphy, the teams president and CEO. And then being able to continually sell Aaron on the things that have been helpful to him playing at as high a level as anybody, arguably, in the history of the game over the last few years., Mike McDaniel, a former LaFleur colleague and now the Dolphins head coach, said a lot of football coaches copy-paste at whatever stop they make, but said LaFleur definitely did not do that. Thats kind of how my family rolls, LeFleur says. The Packers must find a quarterback to back up Love. And the return of Rodgers whose history suggests he will bring out the best in other receivers looks even more significant now than Adams is a Raider. "I don't think there's many things we're leaning on very well right now," LaFleur said after the loss to the Jets. In June, before his first season, LaFleur threw the first pitch at the Green and Gold charity softball game at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis. His sons, Luke and Ty, were there, as was his quarterback. Coaching is about many things, but one of the foundational, overlooked aspects is trust. Dan Pompei is a senior writer for The Athletic who has been telling NFL stories for close to four decades. Of course, there were several unsightly seams between Rodgers and others in the organization. Thats not just because he has to problem-solve an offense without one of the best receivers in football, but because he is entering Year 4 with one of the best quarterbacks of all time and they have yet to make a Super Bowl appearance. That quickly changed. Trust from the locker room will be crucial as he tries to fill the crater in his offense left by the trade of Adams, whose desire was to play for the Raiders. Then when passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy resigned to become offensive coordinator of the Bears, LaFleur told Rodgers he wanted to talk to Clements. And at that stage, 99 percent of coaches wouldnt have had that security. No, he said. Matty Im sure knew this was a possibility, Rodgers says of the controversy. I was learning from him, not the other way around, McVay said of LaFleur. Ultimately, we were there to support David and Frankie, and I didnt want to take away from that experience.. Take for instance, LaFleurs first year. Many times, the lessons you learn from defeats are most impactful than what you learn from when you succeed.. He watched Ryan Tannehill throw it as well as anyone in the league. On the day I was at practice, a reporter asked LaFleur whether he was worried about Rodgers being suspended for admitting to using ayahuasca on a podcast. (Larry Radloff / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press). Matt LaFleur, the new head coach for the Green Bay Packers, is married to wife BreAnne, is the father of two boys, and has a brother who is also involved in the National Football League. In LaFleurs second season, the Packers were trailing the Bucs 31-23 in the NFC Championship Game with 2:09 remaining when LaFleur called for a 26-yard field goal attempt on fourth down from the 8-yard line. If I see any other quarterback do something, I say, We can do that. I just tell our staff, the only thing that limits us is our own imagination.. And in Houston the following year, LaFleurs first task was to draw the run plays for legendary offensive line coach Alex Gibbs. The Packers drafted a third receiver Samori Toure in the seventh round last year. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks during the NFC head coaches availability at the NFL football meetings, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Phoenix. LaFleur has already broken former 49ers coach George Seiferts record for most wins in his first three seasons with 39. You can lay out a vision and certainly youve got to make some decisions, but it takes everyone. He mentions a handful of executives, then points to the locker room. Its pretty cool. The Packers took Christian Watson in the second round and Romeo Doubs in the fourth last year, but theyre the only Green Bay wideouts currently under contract who had at least 100 yards receiving last season. LaFleur seemed to think the talent was there, and the only change needed was at the top. They give credit to worse-looking guys, guys with terrible eyebrows and terrible hairlines, and hes blessed. (Todd Rosenberg / Associated Press), Matt LaFleur willingly shields his players and assistant coaches from blame: As a leader, you have to own everything. (Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press), Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers chat at the NFL Honors show on Feb. 10. The year the Packers traded Brett Favre and made Rodgers the starter, they drafted two quarterbacks, selecting Louisvilles Brian Brohm in the second round and LSUs Matt Flynn in the seventh. If you do not want us and our partners to use cookies and personal data for these additional purposes, click 'Reject all'. Could you imagine if we could ever find a guy like that? He is so good, in fact, that LaFleur fights the urge to let him pass on every play. Stenavich, the Packers offensive coordinator, said, I think a lot of people kind of get thrown off, because hes very direct. I thought (Clements would) be great for him. I promise you [the other team is] colder than we are. And hes a guy I have a special place in my heart for. ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said this is the strongest tight end class in the past decade or so. Hes getting all this credibility for being a handsome, good-looking coach. This is not just a fun anecdote, though: This is where Matt LaFleur first learned football. If you would like to customise your choices, click 'Manage privacy settings'. He will do something even if its worse for him. Whatever is going to help them be their best, thats what we want. Whether its real or not doesnt matter. Like I told him, the beauty of this game is winning is a hell of a lot of fun, but its about the relationships you make. There wasnt anything other than, This guy will work his butt off, Saleh says now. McVay has been impressed from afar by LaFleurs ability to mesh and mold his core beliefs while also making sure Aaron had ownership. McVay said that seeing the LaFleur offense evolve to incorporate Rodgerss tendencies and personnel advantages has been powerful., The identity of a Green Bay offense under his leadership is some of the things Aaron has done at such a high level that are maybe a little different from what some of our backgrounds involved, McVay said. He said he needs to remind himself constantly that for all the facts of the game to work together, you cant just pass on every play. Last years third-round pick was UCLA offensive lineman Sean Rhyan, who played one special teams snap and no offensive snaps as a rookie and was suspended the last six games of the season for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancers. It wasnt the time or place to put the pressure on him. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. The West Coast offense, what he was used to, is very guy for a guy when it comes to protection. What are you just going to bang your head against the wall? They had lunch al fresco and talked about how Clements could help the Packers. Its so cool, he said, to see your entire friend group rise up in your profession with you. Try a week on us. You can tell Aaron respects Matt because theres some stuff Ive never seen him do, and the offense is different from when Matt started.. His departure has firmly entrenched Jordan Love as the Packers star quarterback Head coach Matt LaFleur is all in on his new lead guy The Green Bay Packers have begun the process of moving on. I hadnt really ever hit it, so I had no reference point to be able to throw that with confidence, Rodgers said. Tight end is an even greater need. To Matt this may have been meaningful, but it doesnt even stick in my brain. Theres almost a rom-com-y feel to how Rodgers and LaFleur talk about following each others careers long before they joined up. What Rodgers didnt know was that LaFleur was listening to the broadcast while game-planning. LaFleur defended his decision to kick the field goal. Aaron set me straight, LaFleur said. And the team has playmakers in other offensive positions, like running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Mike LaFleur said he and McDaniel spoke recently and both said they didnt even realize how much theyd learned until they left Shanahan. After four years in Washington, a brief stop at Notre Dame, and a move to Atlanta with Kyle Shanahan, LaFleur was a no-brainer hire to be McVays first offensive coordinator in Los Angeles in 2017. He also gave embattled defensive coordinator Joe Barry a vote of confidence. Holmgren is in the Packers Hall of Fame and soon could be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He went on to coach in the minor league UFL for two seasons with the Sacramento Mountain Lions before Shanahan brought him back on staff in Washington in 2011, a year after LaFleur, Shanahan, and McVay were hired there. Ill always wish him well.. LaFleurs commitment to the Packers and Rodgers led to a spirit of cooperation from the quarterback. Dillon give the Packers one of the NFLs top running back tandems. "It's hard to lead when you're not the guy, and he knows he's the guy now. Now, theres some dispute about how much LaFleur actually knew at that time. LaFleur has become more than a head coach for the Packers. A year later, after a play-calling stint with the Titans, LaFleur popped up on the Packers radar. Certainly, when we only score 10 points offensively, I put that all on myself.. Were still trying to figure everything out. Were talking in the middle of training camp, after all. LaFleur started in the coaching ranks as an offensive assistant at his alma mater in 2003, moved to Central Michigan in 2004, and eventually became offensive coordinator at Ashland University in 2007, the first place he ever called plays. He did know ball, said McDaniel, who was on that 2008 Texans staff. Talk to any former Shanahan assistant and youll get the same response. Now, with the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday the Packers could use the 13th pick (the reported compensation by Adam Schefter for the Aaron Rodgers trade) on another edge rusher or, at the very least, figure to pick one during Day 2. As a leader, you have to own everything, he explains. Thats artwork to me., His success, said Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who was on the 2017 Rams staff with LaFleur, it is so hard to do in this league. Matt LaFleur wins games at a higher clip than any pro football coach in history. We always thought hed be a perfect fit for the scheme. A new seasonand the Wisconsin coldis coming. Much of that Houston staff departed for Washington in 2010 to work under Mike Shanahan. You could trust him with your life or your family. He said that if he was going through something and had to call one person who he knows would drop everything, it would be LaFleur. Hourly. Rodgers was messing around with me quite a bit, LaFleur says. I liked to be coached. Those in the building remain impressed with LaFleurs ability to never let anything affect the locker room, no matter the media firestorm. Between LaFleur and Rodgers, there is trust. He explained that he should not have expected Love to use the same tools to deal with blitzes that Rodgers could, given the difference in their experience levels. But he also took the blame for the loss, saying he failed to tell Rodgers he wouldnt have a fourth down to try to convert. When LaFleur realized how perturbed Rodgers was last offseason, Rodgers said his coach was on the next flight to visit him in Malibu, Calif. That was definitely meaningful to me, Rodgers says. It wasnt until probably about the last year that [Matt] was having somebody cut his own hair other than himself, McVay said. In two of those seasons, Rodgers won the league MVP awardbut LaFleur has never been within 20 votes of Coach of the Year. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. The Green Bay Packers have begun the process of moving on from the Aaron Rodgers era. LaFleurs winning percentage of .796 is better than the winning percentages of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. His unit cost the Packers a deep playoff run. LaFleur has said he learned to cut his own hair during college. To me, if edge is a priority, thats probably where youre going to get your best value (at 15), McShay said. From MACtion, I learned you better have a quarterback, he said. The Packers lack of pass-rushing depth was exposed last season after Gary tore the ACL in his right knee. In LaFleur's first three seasons, they had 13, 11 and 13 turnovers. LaFleur took over for the Green Bay Packers' former head coach, Mike McCarthy, in . But they worked on it. Take the emotion out of it, and be able to have an honest conversation without being triggered or sensitive by what was said. I think most coaches, a lot of coaches tend to stay away from the truth and I think Matt has figured out the way to do it is to go straight at it, Saleh said. Players feed off their coaches. But when I asked McDaniel my last questionWhats one thing I wouldnt know about LaFleur?he got far more serious. LaFleur called off the practice. The 2023 NFL draft is a wrap, as the rich continue to get richer in Philadelphia. In their second season together, Rodgers won the third of his four NFL MVPs. I want to be held accountable, Rodgers says. While some figured it was a foregone conclusion that the Packers would pick up the fifth-year option on their 2020 first-round draft pick at a $20.272 million fully guaranteed price tag for the 2024 season Gutekunst turned down the opportunity after the draft ended to flat-out say that yes, Love will indeed have his option picked up. Hes ready. He has chilled to the point that he is comfortable dealing with failures. He really didnt like the feeling of not knowing everything, so he made it his job to know everything., McDaniel immediately noticed that LaFleur was a quarterback specialist who was obsessed with learning run blocking and line play. The three rules require trust because there is much left assumed with only three. Its important to really think about how we talk because our words are spells. The plan was dinner at Rodgers place just the two of them and Rodgers girlfriend, Shailene Woodley. Franklin, who has known LaFleur since they were graduate assistants at Central Michigan in 2005, says he perceived a decrease in LaFleurs anxiety last season. If I can stand up and say I could have done things better, I think people are more receptive to accepting constructive criticism.. Theirs has been the most scrutinized relationship in the NFL, and it has held up under the surgical lights. But we were getting a lot of positive cases. Rodgers says of his coach: Guys will follow you if you show them how much it means to you. (Michael Owens / Associated Press), Matt LaFleur, with linebacker DeVondre Campbell, has an impeccable winning percentage of .796 but no championships. As a coach, you have to be careful of having too many rules because you can paint yourself into a corner. So, too, is the quarterback-coach relationship. A relationship that falters, even for one series in one game, can alter the course of the franchise forever. Bill Bender joins Craig to discuss who he believes could be the first tight end drafted at this year's NFL Draft. On the special teams side, LaFleur curiously chose to promote internally from Mennenga's staff and gave Maurice Drayton the job. He was just very humble and such a perfectionist at that point in his career that it made him really mad when he didnt know things. The pro game, McDaniel said, was a specific world compared to other levels of football, and the other staff members in Houston were deeply rooted in it. But the results are good., LaFleur has blended this offense with the best plays from McCarthys playbook, at Rodgerss request, the result of an exhaustive and collaborative effort to make the quarterback feel as comfortable as possible. A Rodgers trade could bring them more picks. LaFleur was hoping for a deeper connection. He wanted to give Rodgers time and space. IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International News come to you. One of the most obvious and clichd observations about pro football is also the most true: The head-coach-quarterback relationship is the most important part of the franchise. He was certain of that by the time he left campus that day in 2014. And of course he is. All Rights Reserved. It's the latest. Not saying theyre gonna learn anything, but I didnt take advantage of that time., I didnt learn ball ball until I got to the National Football League, he said. Aaron audibles a lot. As we walk through the tunnels of Lambeau Field, he explains that, like everyone, he cares what people think of him, but he tries hard to only value the opinion of his family, coaches, and players. Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. This week's guest DL Jarran Reed. He didnt care how it affected him, he just wanted to do what he thought was right., In the beginning, there was Bill Walsh College Football. Motion, fakes. If all their interactions were about throwing a football, their relationship would have been restricted. That move could lead to the exit of free agent Mason Crosby, who has a franchise-record 1,918 career points over 17 seasons. LaFleur was a former undersized midwestern quarterback and the son of a MAC coach. But right now, Aaron Rodgers needs me to understand something: that he trolls LaFleur constantly.
