I hear a ton of sports radio. This past week and a half, I heard a lot of arguments, both pro and con, regarding MLF, including some I’d never heard of or thought about.
Rather than rehash AGAIN, I’ll sum it up by saying that the only thing that matters is results. If it’s a 6 or 7 seed and an early playoff exit, extending him was stupid. If it’s a SB win, the organization will be praised for its patience and perspective.
But what if it’s in between? Like a 3 seed and a loss in the conference championship? Or even a SB LOSS?

In other news, I’ll be fascinated to see what Gutey does this offseason with limited picks AND limited cap space. We all know the roster needs work, so let’s see what Gutey cooks up.
GPG!

Given the variables - Policy's first year, the Love and Parsons window, and the waves of injuries, extending the Three Musketeers (or Stooges by some measures) is understandable.

Punishing those to blame, tearing it up and starting over provides fans some measure of satisfaction, but was more unlikely than not to produce the results they're expecting/demand/entitled to. I'm willing to give Policy some latitude simply because of his granular knowledge of the moving parts.

I suspect the leash Policy has them on is no longer than two years. Almost a third of the league is churning coaches this season. I'm glad the Packers won't be in that scramble for chairs when the music stops.

"I probably would have opted for bringing in a new staff and see if they can get the level of effort out of these players to prevent the embarrassing collapses the team has suffered. It couldn't get worse, could it?"

YES...It CAN get worse Al. It got worse all season long. First Cleveland, OMG Cleveland, the tie in Dallas, BARELY beating the Cardinals, losing to Carolina, and the embarrassment that was the Ravens game. The shit shows at Chicago (Both Games) were the cherries on top of a season FILLED with embarrassment.

We'll know if next season will be more of the same in the next week or two. We already know a new DC is coming. The Packers need (IMO) a new Offensive Coordinator, O-Line Coach, ST Coordinator to start. Hell, I'm not sure how much of the defensive staff they keep if any once a new DC is named.

It can get worse. It's not like 9-8-1 is kicking ass and you'd think the Packers will surely improve on that. But keeping MLF means this team will continue to be SOFT. Like Robert Saleh said, take them in the deep end of the pool and see if they can swim. So far, MLF teams have shown the CAN'T swim.

Get er done Matt!!!

I'm right where Al is with this. I thought it was time for a new head coach, but I'm not outraged by the decision to keep LaFleur, and I agree that it's absurd to accuse the Packers leadership of not wanting to win championships.

In terms of leadership, I don't just question LaFleur, I question the players. The leadership to close out games comes as much from the players as it does from the coach. Yes, I know that the coach is ultimately responsible for everything, but there's only so much a coach can do. I always hear that the Packers bring in players who are team captains, which sounds like a good idea, but it doesn't always look like they have great leadership on the field. Maybe they have too many leaders, and they need more followers. I don't know.

Right now I'm hoping for a good DC hire to give the team a boost. Hafley was good, but I'm not convinced he was great. They need to find someone who is at least his equal and brings a fresh perspective that the players respond to. There are a lot of interesting candidates out there.

Paraphrasing Demovsky..The Packers Ed Policy sided with continuity.
Yep....More of the same.
Lets do this!!
***********
Yet, for the 1,200th time.."injuries are never an excuse, but.....

The "Continuity Policy".

I'm going to cheer for Matt and hope for the best. What else can a lifetime Packer fan do?

Unless they snatch some surprise candidate from the lower ranks who would they hire that would make much difference either way? It's not like the team can turn over all its personnel and become the oldest team in the NFL.

Time for MLF to do some soul searching and find the right difference makers in the coaches under him. Not be satisfied with continuation.

Al Good points but Albert Einstien is credited with saying "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." That is what we can expect. MLF has proven that he does not change. He is over his head but wont admit it. Injuries are expected to happen that is why you have to have a plan when they do. MLF has shown he is either slow at or does not make the adjustments needed during a game.

One thing I like about keeping Gute is now he has to figure out how to clean up the mess he created. He has created a team with many holes to fill. OL, DL, CB, TE, back up QB, while maintaining the other positions while having salary cap issues. I will admit if he can provide MLF a competitive team without kicking the salary cap can into the future he will prove that he is a very good GM. I do not see that happening.

MLF will take too long to get a quality DC and our defense will suffer. He might make a couple changes to the coaching staff just to say I did something but I do not see any significant changes other than on defense because the new DC might want new guys. I do not see him giving up play calling and game planning because in his mind he is the best. I doubt that Policy made that a condition of his contract.

We will be at best an average team for awhile.

Run it back for another 4 or 5 years, what could go wrong?

MLF isn't MM, Lombardi, or Lambeau.
He's 4th on the winning list, of packer coaches.
He's keeping with the program's long-term vision
from the start.
And Sullivan didn't get him.

Policy showed the reality of what management sees.
That MLF is a good coach that has been
handicap by a GMs changes.
There is no risk with retaining him.
If you want the unpredictable.
You are in the twilight Zone.

I think Matt Lafleur can do better. He can do better with his staff, his play calling and game management. I am just not sure he will. As one of of fellow contributors phrased it "he doesn't have enough bandwidth to be a HC and play caller". I wish one of the reporters would ask him this question: "After 7 seasons what specifically have you recognized as your deficiencies as a head coach?".

My bigger concern is Gutekunst. He has left the team without the tools on the O-line, D-line and at corner. After watching Seattle play dominant physical football on Saturday I saw how a good GM builds a team. I can only hope that we are not all singing this same lost love tune next year.

Al, you need that sentence: "...hinting that the time to compete for a championship starts with the 2005 season." to 2025, lol. We did pretty well in 2010!

The Packers aren’t against winning and championships. It’s just that they hate unprofitable years more. Their main goal is to avoid bad seasons in which revenue goes down and money gets tight. Therefore, they avoid those 3-14 seasons that other teams endure to build championship teams and prefer the 9-8 seasons year after year. If they happen to catch lightning in a bottle and get to the big game, that’s frosting on the cake, but not essential to the success of their business model .

The only alternative to this is to endure a billionaire a-hole owner like Jerrah or Haslam who can throw non-football money around.

Unless I missed it in the comments, you and most of the writers are missing the boat.

You may think otherwise, but if you have ever been to a Packer stockholder's meeting you'll know that the most important issue to the Packers is not winning championships (although they really...really want them), it is the stability of the franchise. hands down the most important thing. The board of directors are keenly aware of the uniqueness of the Packers ( the smallest franchise in any professional sport.) and how hard it is to maintain the economic strength to do so.
Taking big risks is not in their makeup. The team can not afford a major F/U. Stability is the key.
The team will only change when it absolutely has to and when it obviously apparent things are going south.
As long as the team makes the playoffs nothing is going to change.

P.S. Yes Al, team stability is the most important thing

So there's no continuity in the coaching changes JerseyAl ?? In 27 years GB 63% W/L ... Raiders 42% Bears 47% Lions 39% (interesting)
I did post for change at Head Coach
MLF needs a more disciplined team
MFL needs J Loves fundamentals to match his ability
Gute?MFL need to hire a smart DC who breaths physicality
Gute needs to fix the DL first then the corners
Gute needs to re-sign the correct players
R Walker, R Gary need to go...

Unless Lafleur presented a solid plan to improve on the mental and physical toughness, this extension will be more of the same. If Richy B. and Butkiss are still employed at the end of the week, we can expect more of the same for those two position groups. I would hope Gannon would be attracted to GB given the talent on the defensive roster.

Outside of the CB room, the issue is not about talent. It's about coaching, demanding improvement, and execution and rewarding/punishing improvement or lack thereof.

Now that the Bears "luck streak" is over, I will have little interest in the remaining games. For me, the quality, experience and toughness of the defensive coordinator hire will be the most critical issue till the draft.

There's going to be forced turnover on the roster through FA and cap management, and there's going to be forced turnover in the assistants. It's hard to be excited about running LaF back for another round, especially with some of the assistants who are likely to still be around (ahem: Bisaccia) whose units keep hurting the Packers.

Every GM has his project players on the roster, and it's time to churn some out and start fresh. "Youngest team in the league" works if you're cutthroat on who's going to help you and who's taking up space. The OL needs a boost in talent on the depth chart. Relying solely on in-house guys to step up as Walker, Jenkins, and Rhyan likely go is a terrible plan. McManus reverted to his pre-2024 form. He's too pricey for that. The DL and CB rooms need a boost. There's nothing worth noting at TE behind Kraft, and Jacobs is aging. The Packers have already cut Diggs, which nets $15M against the cap in '26, and letting Jenkins go will open up another $20M. They'll make some other moves, yet, and will have limited space to sign some value vets. I think this team could, with 6 picks, draft only LB, CB, OL, and DL.

more then MLF Gutekunst is the problem. look at his win rate in the first two rounds of the draft. admittedly the draft is something of a crapshoot, but some GMs really have a talent for evaluating talent, like Green Bay or DePere native Schneider in Seattle. How can a GM have mustered so little talent for the D and O lines. the latest strikeout Jordan Morgan who can neither pass block or run block.... I see us as third or even fourth place in our division, fourth if the Vikings pick up Malik Willis...

Simply put who can you hire as a new head coach when there is so much competition this year from so many teams g hiring new HC's. Sticking with LaFluer at this point and time makes 100% sense.

I am still awaiting the details of the contract, but I do have to say what was wrong with a "lame duck" or "prove it" year for Lafleur and Gute?

We do it with players all the time. They either prove their worth and are rewarded or they move on.

Rewarding what we saw this year with an extension and more money is so counter-intuitive in my mind even with the injuries.

"'Status quo,' you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in,'" - Ronald Regan

"While injuries are never an excuse in the NFL, looking back on the season and the way it played out, it does make you wonder what could have been."

Everyone wants to use the 'next man up' mantra. That is all cute when you replace an average starter with a backup. It doesn't work when you try replacing an All Pro player with a backup.

Kraft to me was an all pro player this year. He was almost unstoppable when given the ball. After he went down, they had to basically change the offense. This was the TE production for the year.

Kraft had 32 catches for 489 yards, 6 TD's, in 8 games.
Musgrave had 24 catches for 252 yards and 0 TD's in 15 games.
Whyle added 5 catches for 36 yards and 1 TD, in 8 games .
Fitzpatrick had 12 catches for 72 yards and 1 TD, in 15 games.

Parsons was an All Pro player, and for non QB players, it would be hard to say he wasn't top 3 in the league. How many players in the league commanded double and triple teamed every play. Not many. After they lost him, offenses had nothing to truly fear.

Those 2 players are All Pro players. Those can't be replaced and clearly weren't.
The injuries doesn't include the season ending injuries to Wyatt, Tom, Jenkins. All of which could be considered pro bowl caliber players. They also lost players they felt strongly about. Players like Travis Glover, Marshawn Lloyd. They lost 3 of their best special teams players with Zayne Anderson, Bo Melton, Kristian Welch. They got back Nieman but he missed a lot of time.

Injuries aren't an excuse, but they are a reason.

One issue Green Bay has is that they are located in WI. Love WI., however when hiring coaches and players you have to take in consideration one thing....taxes. If the Cowboys want the same coach as Green Bay and Green Bay decides to match their salary the candidate will most likely chose the Cowboys because Texas doesn't have a state income tax. When we are talking millions...the take home pay adds up.
JMHO

One other thing to harp on and then I will quit with the coaching issues. Last season it was apparent to anyone who knew football that Kraft needed to be more involved with the offense. It really didn't happen until after the first few games of this season.
Golden, IMHO, is showing the same characteristics as Kraft but was written out of the game plan. Obviously I'm not a coach don't see the practices, and didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express, but the trend tells me that the coaches aren't broadening their game plans to use all their talent. Not sure if its the same on the D side of the ball as well.
JMHO

A number of times this year the team lost games they should have won.

I’m not talking about games that, on paper, the fans or talking heads said the packers should win- I’m talking about games wherE we could see with our own eyes on the field of play the packers were visibly capable of handling the task at hand, but due to in-game circumstances (lull, injury, costly mistakes at key moments) the games got away from them. Generally speaking, this team lost games by close margins due to correctable issues.

We also saw a number of games and flashes within games this year where the packers looked dominant and capable of a deep playoff run.. more than enough times to know it is a legitimate glimpse of true capability, not just a lucky moment that’s unlikely to be recaptured.

I understand why people might want to move on from MLF, but at the end of the day, I think the core elements are there and this thing needs massaged and tweaked, not tore down and rebuilt.

I do believe MLF and this staff need to look in the mirror and make some corrections- I think that goes for the players, too- but I believe we’re closer to the dominant performances than we are to the breakdowns. For better or worse, we’re locked into a 3 year window with parsons and starting over from scratch will likely result in a team trying to find their footing under a new head coach during the next two years instead of a team ready to hit the ground running.

The decision has been made, I’ve got no control over that decision or the outcome. Ready to cheer on the pack and root for progress and some dominant football.

I agrer Al, coaching change probably n9t needed. I dis agree totallwith about the teams you mentioned going through coach after coach.
Those teams didnt have hack to back HOF QBs all those years. They had crap QB's who lost and the coaches were canned because of it.
This team has shit for defensive talent in the secondary. Lefluer cant make them bigger faster quiker so getting rid of him solves nothing. Shore up pasd d and this team can win 8 gamrs next year. End of story

Its amazing reading some of these posts. When you lose the war in the trenches you usually lose the game. Once Wyatt got hurt we were screwed at DT. Not one guy on our roster after that would start for any other NFL team. That's on Gute for not replacing Clark with a quality big body at DT. How did they leave the DT position with so little talent was nuts. Especially since last years draft had plenty of quality DT s in it. If they don't fix that this off season i give up.

I’ve always believed injuries are very much a valid excuse—and I will continue using it. However, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to continue winning. Which we didn’t do.
Go Packers!!!

Let's face it folks, the NFL is a survivor pool. Injuries do matter and front offices have clearly shown this by their actions and inactions. I saw some earlier posts that maintained the 'who' had injuries was way more important than the quantity. I agree, you don't replace your all pro's with backups and maintain a high level of play. Also is it fair to change coaching staffs because certain players underperformed? Rasheed played his worst game of the year, Rashan faded as the game went on because he is chronically out of shape. The defensive collapse at Chicago started after Cooper got hurt. Bad teams make knee jerk reactions, good teams stick to the plan and show patience. Go watch Kurt Warner's breakdown of the second half passing game against Chicago and tell me it was LeFleur's fault. Love played well overall but missed numerous opportunities to win that game. Sometimes the players have to make plays.

Al: When the game is on the line and the Packers have the ball, they call a timeout to avoid getting a delay of game penalty because they cannot get the play in on time. When play is resumed, they still cannot get a play in on time, and then get that delay of game penalty! And they lose the game. After 7 years, I still believe the NFL game is too big for MLF. Perhaps, after this new contract, they get him a little more help.

"And with the re-hiring of LaFleur, we have seen the return of my all-time favorite, "the Packers don't care about winning actual championships." It's an absurd premise and I'm incredulous that so many people actually believe it."

Possibly your best quote to date! I couldn't agree more as it is such an illogical response. Personally, I think some comments are based on emotion of the moment and not rationale thinking.

I also agree with you, would've liked to see a change, but I also understand and can appreciate the thought you have a winning formula so why change it. GPG

When the list of excuses needed to explain an outcome is this long, and so many of those are extended and contorted, one should probably consider that they really not explain anything at all. All that remains is the outcome.

At some point the pooping by the fans on MLF will need to cease. There's plenty more to discuss than hearing the same crap over and over and over.
No one was happy how the season turned out and that includes the Packers management, staff, coaches etc. I suspect that Policy noted that bringing in a whole new system might take even more time to get going and one last caveat: the new system might fail and the 'window' would be closed. There's also going to be a good deal of roster churn this offseason.
Another consideration might be the contracts. The Packers have a good amount of cash on hand. This is not the money allocated to the salary cap but reserves for operations. MLF and Gute's contracts could be nixed if the same horsepucky happens again next fall. Long term deals in the NFL are a myth. A coach and/or GM can go at any time as we saw happen this past season.

I always have a beef with folks who think the next Lombardi is sitting in the Packers parking lot waiting to be hired. This year I saw one coach who could replace MLF and keep things going: John Harbaugh. Now Sean McDermott is available. But dipping into the offensive and defensive coordinator pool is a crapshoot. Bengston to Devine to Starr to Gregg to Infante is all I need to remember about 'fire everybody'. Gregg won a Super Bowl and bombed in Green Bay.

Is it too much to ask to simply drop the bitterness and look ahead?

I would have preferred to that no-nonsense, maximum effort kind of coach as well, as well as one that do some reprioritizing and insist on excellence from all three units (especially special teams). LaFleur hasn't given us much hope in the playoffs with his recurring issues, so I can understand why many fans are skeptical whether he can win a championship. That goes for his sidekick Gute in many fans' minds.

But what's done is done. So what can you say except, "Saddle up, Packers fans: MLF is the horse you're still going to be riding, so do your best to grin and bear it!"

Ray Rhodes? Forgettable, I know.

Your last sentence spoke volumes. Stick with hasn't been working, see the team actually get worse when they make the playoffs every year LaFleur has been in GB, but hope for different results. If the team had tried to get someone like McDaniels as OC, kept Stenavich at the same salary but given him the OL, told Butkus goodbye, canned Bisaccia and brought in a new conditioning group, for starters, I would be happier. But it seems the Packers are rewarding the current Packers HC and GM even though the results have been less than expected. And if having embarrassing collapses and under performing be rewarded with an extension, then hoping things will turn around? This is an undisciplined team that has made crucial penalties a regular feature of their games. That, and although the mantra is "All gas, no brakes", once the team gets a lead, they do the opposite. And why has no one addressed whether MLF actually trusts Love to make plays on a regular basis?
Buffalo decided enough was enough. They're willing to take a chance, and are rolling the dice that a change in coaches will finally be enough to push the team to a SB. And, yes, in GB, making the playoffs has apparently become good enough. I've written it, it seems apparent, and this latest move just goes to show that this standard is acceptable.

Al I liked the article. I have been cheering the Packers on for over 60 years. And I will continue to cheer them on. As a fan I have always thought our players were great watching them play. But I am biased. I am a fan. So I looked how the non Packer folks viewed us. Pro-Bowl voting Parson. PFF choice Parson and our punter. The Associated press All Star teams Parson first team McKinny second team. Tells me we have one blue chip player. Probably a handful of red chips. Our roster needs to improve. We all know the chance of a 2026 draft choice being a starter barring injury is slim to none. Chance of Gute not acknowledging a draft choice miss and overpaying him 50/50. How about an undisciplined team committing stupid penalties on both sides of the ball 100%. Special Teams we won't go there. How about an inside zone run from the shot gun on 3rd and 1. You know it's going to happen. I will hope for the best. But without a total house cleaning in the assistant coaches just can't see much better than 500 ball being played. GPG

Question - Was it the same ol, same ol under Lombardi? I was too young. Or even Holmgren? It certainly was under McCarthy's later years. Certainly, the suffering of the 70s and 80s showed a lot of stagnation but without the internet, who followed things so closely?

The only reason to keep MLF was because "who else you gonna get". That has got to be the worst reason to keep a head coach - apparently except for the Packers. Almost no team that fires their head coach knows who they are going to get. Yes, we have a better chance if our injured players come back. But all indications are that MLF is not the guy to call 60 minutes of football each week and get 60 minutes out of his players. It is PAINFULLY obvious. Is it possible the MLF learns to improve? Of course. How long do you want to wait?

Still, I will hope for the best.
But signing off with 'SOLID' - Spirit Of Lombardi Is Dead.

Good article, Al.

Maybe some fans believe "the Packers don't care about winning actual championships."

I certainly don't believe that in general....and it is also very clear the Packers do care about continuity and status quo and football committee management too. So the question is can the first priority be best achieved by the second priority?

LaFleur will be the 4th longest tenured coach of the Packers behind Lambeau, Lombardi, McCarthy, then LaFleur and Holmgren in the top 5.

In that top 5 of tenured coaches, LaFleur is the ONLY one who has never won a Conference or an NFL/SB Championship. He is also the only Packer HC to be "managed" by a football committee. The other 4 had GM control or a GM running the team.

The other 12 Packer HC's never won a Conference or an NFL/SB Championship either.

After 7 years, I'd expect the front office, since they care about Championships, would have concerns about LaFleur keeping company with the other 12 head coaches and not the other 4 top longest serving men.