Despite Elite Win Percentage, LaFleur Has Plenty to Prove

Matt LaFleur ranks alongside Pro Football Hall of Famers when it comes to regular-season success. However, he’s only middle-of-the-pack in coach rankings.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
May 26, 2023 9:14 AM EDT
Original:
May 26, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s playoff resume is a disappointment, but his regular-season success can hardly be matched.

With a 47-19 record in four seasons, LaFleur has won 71.2 percent of his games. That’s fourth-best in NFL history among all coaches with at least 50 games. The three men ahead of him are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Guy Chamberlin (.784), John Madden (.750) and Vince Lombardi (.738).

That means LaFleur is No. 1 among active coaches. As it turns out, it’s by a huge margin. New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick is a distant second with a regular-season winning percentage of .662. LaFleur could drop his first four games of this season and still be ahead of Belichick.

Of course, the lack of playoff success means LaFleur isn’t widely regarded as one of the league’s best coaches, his superb record notwithstanding. Writing for The 33rd Team, former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker ranked the league’s 32 head coaches. LaFleur checked in 17th; the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid is first and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh McDaniels is worst among returning coaches.

LaFleur led the Packers to three consecutive 13-win seasons, a feat unmatched in NFL history. However, after the Packers went 13-3 in 2020 and 13-4 in 2021 behind Aaron Rodgers’ MVP seasons, Rodgers’ performance dropped considerably in 2022 and the team plunged to 8-9.

Thus, is LaFleur’s record inflated because of Rodgers’ greatness?

We’re going to find out.

As Tucker put it, “The Jordan Love era will be the tale of the tape for LaFleur.”

Can Love hit the ground running after three years of working in LaFleur’s system?

Can LaFleur get the best out of a young group of pass catchers?

Did he make the right decision in retaining defensive coordinator Joe Barry?

If those questions are answered affirmatively and the Packers have a strong bounce-back season behind Love, LaFleur will emerge from Rodgers’ considerable shadow and prove that he is a top-notch coach.

Moreover, he might be in the running for NFL Coach of the Year if the Packers can reach the playoffs with a first-year starting quarterback throwing to a bunch of rookies and second-year players.

At Bet 365, LaFleur is +2800 to win the award. That’s tied for 21st; the Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell is the favorite at +1000, and Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus and new Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton are next at +1200.

Speaking of Bet 365, it has a great offer: Bet $1 and receive $200 in bonus bets to use on LaFleur, the Packers winning the Super Bowl (+5000), Love winning MVP (+5000) or any of its other markets.