Does Matt LaFleur need to prove he’s essential to the Packers?

Matt LaFleur has won a lot of regular season games

The Green Bay Packers have won many games since Matt LaFleur became their head coach. Even with all their success, some national media members are not sure how good of a coach he is. A recent write-up of LaFleur by The Ringer casts doubt on how much of the Packers’ recent success is due to him.

LaFleur has a 39-10 regular season record in his first three seasons with the Packers. All three of those seasons saw the Packers win the NFC North. It would be a stretch to say LaFleur is harming the team with that kind of success.

It is also hard to gauge how much success is due to the head coach. Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, makes winning games for a head coach much easier than it would be at another franchise. Former head coach Mike McCarthy also won a lot of games with Rodgers. Until he didn’t, and then he was fired.

McCarthy received a lot of blame for his handling of in-game decision-making in the playoffs. However, McCarthy does have a Super Bowl victory to his credit. LaFleur does not. The Packers under LaFleur have not been able to accomplish what his teams have in the regular season. LaFleur has a 2-3 record in the playoffs. In all three losses, he appeared to be outcoached, twice by Kyle Shanahan and once by Bruce Arians.

What can LaFleur prove about his legacy this season?

Kevin Clark wrote about what the upcoming season will mean to LaFleur. Clark mentions that much of the team’s success is attributed to Rodgers and not LaFleur, as evidenced by the coach of the year voting versus MVP voting. This season will give viewers a better chance to evaluate LaFleur’s stewardship of the Packers, Clark argues, as this team faces the unique challenges of an aging quarterback who just lost their best receiver in the offseason, Davante Adams:

LaFleur has the same job: Make Rodgers’s tape look better than it used to be, an increasingly high bar. That’s 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.

Even so, he does not feel a ton of pressure. 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. He gets reflective. “It’s so cool,” he said, “to see your entire friend group rise up in your profession with you.

Matt LaFleur’s legacy will not be defined by this season

This season will undoubtedly have its challenges for Matt LaFleur. LaFleur will need to make sure the new pieces of the offense are ready to hum this season. However, the Packers should be able to glide into the playoffs, given the weak NFC North shouldn’t have a team that can rival them this season.

LaFleur has proven he is more of an effective leader than what the Packers had from at least the 2013 season until when he was hired. As for the playoffs, those are more of a crapshoot where it can take time to win. Just ask Andy Reid.

The real test for LaFleur will come when Rodgers is no longer in a Packer uniform. LaFleur then has to show how he can craft a team to win games without an MVP-level candidate at the sport’s most valuable position. Until then, LaFleur’s record has shown he can elevate the Packers, even if they ultimately fell short of the Super Bowl. Good, but not enough to say he’s an elite coach.