Could Packers’ Matt LaFleur Be Part of Rare Coach Trade?

With no resolution regarding Matt LaFleur’s future as coach of the Packers, practically everything is on the table.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is shown during the first quarter of their game against the Baltimore Ravens. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 1999, the Green Bay Packers traded Mike Holmgren to the Seattle Seahawks for a second-round pick. Could history repeat itself with Matt LaFleur?

As of Friday afternoon, almost a full week after the Packers’ brutal playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, there has been no resolution regarding the coach’s future with the team he’s led since 2019.

At this point, all options seem to be on the table. The Packers and LaFleur could agree to a contract extension. They could decide to go their separate ways.

Or the Packers could trade LaFleur, which would provide valuable draft capital for a team with no first-round pick in 2026 or 2027 following the Micah Parsons trade, though it would come with the risk of replacing a coach with a resume that includes six playoff appearances in seven seasons.

Trading a coach is a rarity in the coaching world. Dating to 1997, NBC Sports Boston listed seven.

In his mailbag, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes LaFleur, like Holmgren more than a quarter-century ago, would fetch a second-round pick.

Years and dollars are at the forefront of any negotiation and certainly would be in this one, too, as LaFleur and his agent, Trace Armstrong, meet with new team President Ed Policy. Other potential obstacles are changes to the organizational structure, with LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president Russ Ball currently on a level playing field under the organization flow chart instituted by former team President Mark Murphy.

“First things first,” Breer wrote of a potential trade, “I think it’d take an impasse in those talks to open up this discussion. We may get there.”

He noted the enormous contracts given to a pair of first-year coaches, with Chicago’s Ben Johnson getting $13 million annually and Jacksonville’s Liam Coen getting $12 million per season.

“Those two guys brought a combined zero games of experience as head coaches to the proverbial negotiating table,” Breer wrote. “Logically, that gives LaFleur, who’s been to two NFC title games and is 16th all-time in winning percentage (.654), plenty of room to ask for between $15 million and $20 million.”

For what it’s worth, one league source said LaFleur could be guilty of overvaluing his worth based on his limited playoff resume. Another pointed to the lack of proven coaches in this cycle in saying LaFleur would be in position to “pick his job,” especially with former Ravens coach John Harbaugh taking the Giants job and former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin reportedly wanting to sit out the upcoming season.

The question is whether the Packers will dole out that hefty of a contract to a coach who has won one playoff game the past five seasons and has failed to win the NFC North since 2021.

“Of course,” LaFleur said a day after the wild-card loss when asked if he wants to remain with the Packers. “I mean, this is one of one. I love this place. I love the people. As much as you guys drive me nuts sometimes, I love you guys. I love our players, the locker room, everybody in our organization.

“This is a unique place. The community has been outstanding. I grew up in the Midwest, and it’s got the same type of vibe that I grew up in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Unless you’re from here, you don’t understand how friendly everybody is. And it’s nice, no matter who you are, you’re walking down the street and people say hello to one another. And I’ve lived in other places, so I think this is a unique place and it’s a special place. My kids love it here, my family loves it here.”

Time’s Running Short

From one perspective, time is on the Packers’ side, with only Harbaugh off the board. All the other candidates are available, with many of them being assistant coaches on playoff teams that have games this weekend. The Packers would be in a catch-up mode, with many of those coaches having had virtual interviews over the past several days.

One exception is their popular defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, who was on the interview list of six teams.

Moreover, the uncertainty could impact LaFleur’s staff if he were to return. If Hafley becomes a coach elsewhere, they’d have to replace him. Potentially their top in-house candidate, DeMarcus Covington, has met with the Cowboys and Jets about their coordinator openings.

History of Coach Trades

In 2023, the Saints traded Sean Payton and a third-round pick to the Broncos for first- and second-round choices. Payton, who led New Orleans to a Super Bowl championship in 2009, has the Broncos as the No. 1 seed in this year’s AFC playoffs.

In the mother of all coach trades, the Buccaneers in 2002 traded two first-round picks and two second-round picks to the Raiders for Jon Gruden. Gruden led the Bucs to a Super Bowl win – over the Raiders, no less – during his debut season.

In 1999, Holmgren – the coach who led the Packers to Super Bowl glory – opted to leave Green Bay in order to become coach, general manager and executive vice president of the Seahawks. With Seattle, it took him until Year 7 to reach the playoffs, with that 2005 team being the only one that reached a Super Bowl.

The Packers used the draft pick, No. 47 overall, on cornerback Fred Vinson. In a separate trade a year later, the Packers sent Vinson to Seattle in the deal that sent record-setting running back Ahman Green to Green Bay.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER