Matt LaFleur Lands Slightly Surprising Spot on Hot Seat List

After the team’s longest season-ending losing streak since 1990, Packers coach Matt LaFleur is back for Year 8. But what about Year 9?

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is furious about calling a timeout against Washington. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After the 2025 season, NFL teams fired and hired 10 head coaches.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur was not among them. After a season-ending five-game losing streak, Packers President Ed Policy gave LaFleur a contract extension.

That doesn’t necessarily mean LaFleur can exhale, though.

In his Hot Seat Rankings at Fox Sports, Ralph Vacchiano placed LaFleur at No. 9.

“He just got a multiyear contract extension,” Vacchiano explained, “but since when has that mattered? … Ed Policy was unsure enough about LaFleur last year that he made him twist until the end of this season. Part of that is because the stakes are high in Titletown and LaFleur’s Packers teams haven't made a deep run in five years.”

“He’s the Guy We Need”

There is precedent for a quick move. In August 2004, the Packers gave Mike Sherman a two-year contract extension. One 4-12 season later, Sherman was fired.

General manager Brian Gutekunst said the decision to extend LaFleur was Policy’s, but it was one he “fully” supported.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with him for seven years really closely,” Gutekunst said last week. “You guys know, he’s an excellent football coach. To get where we’re going, he’s the guy we need. I think he’s as eager as anybody to get back at it. Nobody’s really satisfied, obviously, with how the season ended.

“We’ve been through this before, where as soon as the season ends, you want to get started on the next one because you’re just not satisfied with where we want to be. But along with Russ (Ball), I think the three of us over the last seven years have really found a really good working relationship, where we can lean on each other and support each other. Happy, obviously, we’re all coming back.”

Gutekunst, who also received a contract extension, joked at the notion that they’d work more closely together.

“We’re not going to move in together,” he said with a smile. “We work pretty close together with the daily conversations. I think that would almost be really hard but, yeah, anytime you’ve been together seven years, you continue, you almost feel part of each other sometimes, share the same brain. It’s a really good working relationship. I’m excited to keep going.”

LaFleur’s Late-Season Collapse

Green Bay fell apart at the end of a second consecutive season.

This year, the Packers were 9-3-1 headed into a December showdown at the Denver Broncos. The Packers lost that game and every other game, including blown leads at Chicago in Week 16 and in the playoffs. It was the longest season-ending losing streak for the Packers since 1990.

The Packers led the wild-card game 21-6 to start the fourth quarter but wound up with their second consecutive one-and-done postseason. Since beating the Rams at Lambeau in 2020, the Packers have won just one playoff game.

“Obviously, we’ve got to win the games that matter the most in December or January,” Gutekunst said. “That’s kind of been the tale of the last couple of years. This team’s ready to do that, and we haven’t done that. So, that’s kind of the next step.

“Certainly, that was a strength of ours prior to these last couple of years was how we finished. We were playing our best football at the end of the season; we haven’t done that the last two years. I think it’s probably getting a little bit back to basics and just making sure that we’re not missing anything in those areas. That’s what I would say to that.”

While speculation swirled about LaFleur’s future after the game, the players had his back – something that mattered to Policy in the final decision.

“I’m not too much concerned about Matt,” running back Josh Jacobs said. He added, “I think he’s become a great leader since I’ve been here.”

“The change is the players,” defensive end Micah Parsons added. “Us players are the ones that’s playing the game.”

LaFleur is 76-40-1 in the regular season, his .654 winning percentage ranking 16th in NFL history. However, he’s only 3-6 in the playoffs. Of the 15 coaches ahead of him on the regular-season list, 13 coached at least one playoff game. Only one of them, Hall of Famer George Allen, was worse in the playoffs (2-7; .222).

“If the Packers slip next season or fail to get beyond the divisional round of the playoffs, that contract extension might not be enough to save him,” Vacchiano wrote. 

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