It might be the storywhy this all works. LaFleur came up with his own version. I dont want to discredit the fact that hes a perfect fit for any scheme, but we would literally talk about that amongst each other, LaFleur said. His response reflected rule No. You might see them greet them, but this was legitimately asking them questions, spending time with them.. But they worked on it. Dillon. I thought he would be great for everybody in that room, all our quarterbacks, LaFleur says. Clements is another spoke in the Packers wheel. He gets reflective. The majority of us are vaxed, coaches, players. Last year he lost to Mike Vrabel by 28 votes, and the prior two years he didnt even finish second. But Murphy said he felt LaFleur might have known more about the organization that he did in the interviewnot just roster or schemes, but history, too. On the special teams side, LaFleur curiously chose to promote internally from Mennenga's staff and gave Maurice Drayton the job. LaFleur has become more than a head coach for the Packers. LaFleurs retorts usually arent for public consumption. Each guy wants to talk shit about the one I spoke to previously. I really like it now, Rodgers said. He ran a basic pro-style offense there that was successful, if not wildly creative. I think the ball can bounce either wayI dont want this to come off sounding like an excuse, because it is what it is. And they take it like being attacked or something but hes just asking questions and being thorough. Stenavich said they recently changed the rules of a protection scheme not because LaFleur was angry, but because he just kept interrogating why they did it that way. Its also a reason Rodgers was voted the leagues most valuable player the last two years. But neither season ended the way they wanted. This, I assure you, is part of the story. The Packers played in Green Bay last Christmas Day. ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said this is the strongest tight end class in the past decade or so. After four years in Washington, a brief stop at Notre Dame, and a move to Atlanta with Kyle Shanahan, LaFleur was a no-brainer hire to be McVays first offensive coordinator in Los Angeles in 2017. And, of course, how often each would pound the table for a particular concept. Well, I dont know how productive it really is. Tight end is an even greater need. With more help at the tight end spot coming in the form of Tucker Kraft, an extra edge rusher in Colby Wooden and Virginia's Dontayvion Wicks for receiver depth, the Packers pretty much hit on all of their picksoutside of the Sean Clifford pick. Theyre always the most important. Rodgers accuses LaFleur of having his wife, BreAnne, manicure those brows, which are dark, not too bushy and not too sparse. The lines could have been made with a ruler. Hes got great eyebrows, he dresses nice, and they just get distracted by all the things he brings to the table and they dont give him credit. He is, entering his fourth year, the longest-tenured head coach in his division, no doubt a byproduct of his rivals inability to reliably beat him. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. (McVay noted that the teams two-back sets are impressive. McVay said he looks for a handful of things in an assistant: character, capacity to learn, communication skills, and knowledge of the game from an all-22 perspectivemeaning every position. So hes like, Whatever, Im not gonna concern myself with the trivial nature of getting mad. He just wants to know the answer.. Only it was a ruse to get the two to shovel snow and park cars all night long. The most recent tight end the Packers picked in the first round was Miamis Bubba Franks, who went 14th overall in 2000. So he was no. I want them to be happy, I want them to enjoy being here. But we were getting a lot of positive cases. Its a mindset. And the onus will be on coaches to figure out how to help these players find success. Dillon give the Packers one of the NFLs top running back tandems. Five coaches in the 2019 hiring cycle have already departed their teams. As much as anything, its why Rodgers will be a Packer in 2022. The league reflects their image now and they are having a great time with it. What are you just going to bang your head against the wall? Initially, there was some negotiation about how much freedom Rodgers would be given to make adjustments at the line of scrimmage. The group effort means personnel and schemes. On March 5, the world was still awaiting confirmation that the NFLs reigning most valuable player planned to return to Green Bay. The wedding story starts where all LaFleur stories do: with the coach trying to give everyone space to be themselves. At the time, he had been in a firestorm because he was unvaccinated but previously told the media he was immunized after undergoing a treatment to heighten his immunity. He also gave embattled defensive coordinator Joe Barry a vote of confidence. Packers can shore up pivotal role in Matt LaFleur's offense with tight ends in 2023 NFL Draft. That is special, really special.. Robert Saleh, a defensive quality control coach for Houston and LaFleurs former roommate when they were both young assistant coaches at Central Michigan, pitched Shanahan and Kubiak on LaFleur. LaFleur was the Titans offensive coordinator by then, but Rodgers recalled how much he loved those concepts when LaFleurs staff first came in. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Aaron Rodgers might not be the only longtime Packer heading out of Green Bay. Even so, he does not feel a ton of pressure. LaFleur has won two playoff games as a head coach but has yet to lead his team to a Super Bowlthis despite earning a first-round playoff bye in each of his three seasons. LaFleur reiterated his hope that he'd get to continue working with Rodgers this season while offering no news on the quarterback's status. For some strange reason, LaFleur promoted from . In LaFleur's second season, the Packers were trailing the Bucs 31-23 in the NFC Championship Game with 2:09 remaining when LaFleur called for a 26-yard field goal attempt on fourth down from the . Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field on November 14, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Which may explain, in part, why three days after the wedding, Rodgers informed LaFleur Matty, he calls him that the vows between the Packers and their passer would be renewed. Please enter a valid email and try again. The credentials, or the journey to get the credentials, though, are important. In 2013, he received the Bill Nunn Award from the Pro Football Writers of America for long and distinguished reporting. You wanted to be the guy that found the play no one else had seen, you wanted to be the guy who watched the most tape, you wanted to be the guy who understood coverages the best, McDaniel said. Assuming the Packers stay at 15, this would be just their second top-15 overall pick in the past 14 drafts. And if they questioned something, he often responded with a reconsideration. He is, and I mean this with all sincerity, out of all the people that Ive known in life, in this profession or not, the most trustworthy human being Ive ever met, McDaniel said. I told him Im here for him and I support him, LaFleur says. I told him, Hey, from my standpoint, you have to do what you think is right for your body.. This period ended organicallya meeting here, a play there, a series of expansive Zoom calls before the 2020 season. In LaFleur's first three seasons, they had 13, 11 and 13 turnovers. If I can stand up and say I could have done things better, I think people are more receptive to accepting constructive criticism.. The week after the Saturday Christmas Day game, the Packers had an extra practice scheduled. But they face two major questions: How can they account for their lack of playoff success over the past three years, and how will they attempt to replace a superstar wideout? GREEN BAY Matt LaFleur knew he bombed the interview. A new seasonand the Wisconsin coldis coming. Could you imagine if we could ever find a guy like that? He is so good, in fact, that LaFleur fights the urge to let him pass on every play. That, in turn, forced Barry to blitz more to generate pressure, with limited success. Whats so exciting about this league is when there is a situation like this, it seems to me guys will always step up and assume the role. The way he does it is organic and yet purposeful. His unit cost the Packers a deep playoff run. In three seasons together, LaFleur and Rodgers have won 13 games three times and reached the NFC championship game twice. DeVondre Campbell, a linebacker who broke out for the Packers last season, said that something as simple as LaFleur letting players sleep in their own bed the night before a home gamesomething Campbell has never seen at the NFL levelgives him freedom hes never experienced in the league. "I don't really anticipate a whole . LaFleur gave that same freedom to Rodgers after last season, when the quarterback was unsure whether he wanted to keep playing. The NFL announced Friday that LaFleur will be the NFC coach for the 2022 Pro Bowl, while Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel will coach the AFC.. LaFleur's Packers and Vrabel's Titans were both the No. Theres nothing he cannot do. And theyre gonna make you throw the football? He explained that he should not have expected Love to use the same tools to deal with blitzes that Rodgers could, given the difference in their experience levels. He always says, Man, the NFL playoffs is the closest thing to March Madness, its going to be super competitive and theres always lessons you can take from your triumphs and defeatsprobably more so when you come up short.. This thing doesnt operate with just one dude. 12 pick in 2019. who played one special teams snap and no offensive snaps as a rookie, was suspended the last six games of the season. Rodgers agrees, saying he has seen LaFleur loosen up and worry less about the little things. Go to where you feel you can get a big pass play. And he was still so spooked when he returned to Green Bay that he talked to offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich about it. Rodgers was messing around with me quite a bit, LaFleur says. I am not trying to compete with anybody else in the league. He also learned how everything ties together: Sometimes, he said, youll trade in a 3-yard pass in order to set up an explosive pass. People have to make the best decision for themselves. Knowing that we both come to it just wanting to do whats best for the team and with love and respect for each other.. Matt will get excited, but hes able to assess situations and not get too carried away. Matty Im sure knew this was a possibility, Rodgers says of the controversy. To win consistently the way he has is not appreciated enough., His quarterback, though, has a different take: Its because he just won the lottery, man. Tight end Marcedes Lewis said if he didnt have LaFleur as his coach, he might not be in the leagueand not necessarily because LaFleur uses his skill set perfectly (though he does, letting Lewis be a dominant blocker and catch passes off those blocks). Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, president Mark Murphy and director of football operations Russ Ball also were involved in the discussions. In fact, the trend started well before the arrival of Rodgers, who is expected to get traded to the New York Jets before the start of the next season. Thats 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. If Rodgers was ticked off at LaFleur, hed get frustrated and stew. No, he said. His players paint him as sort of a Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerrtype personality manager, if either man had an unbelievable skin care regimen. Despite some good speeches and agreeable philosophies, Drayton wasn't the answer. The Packers are picking 15th overall after going 8-9 last season, missing the playoffs and ending a string of three straight NFC North titles. The play takes a lot of trust, and its virtually a blind throw, a favorite of nearly everyone in LaFleurs coaching circle. LaFleur seemed to think the talent was there, and the only change needed was at the top. 15 and then get a safety, tight end and receiver later. LaFleur has not indicated, at any point, that he wants acknowledgment for what the Packers have achieved with him at the helm. Copyright IBTimes 2023. But even more drastic press conferences than that have taken place during his Packers tenure. Bottom line, you gotta find a way to win. He said he wonders often what could be done differently. Because I troll Matt all the time.. Congratulations, LaFleur. (AP Photo/Matt York), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. What I put on film yesterday and what I want to put on film today.. I was like Holy shit, Ive got a lot to learn.. The argument LaFleur suffers from is that hes a beneficiary of Rodgerss talent. He wasnt grilling T-bones. The third round has been disastrous for the Packers recently. Take for instance, LaFleurs first year. And from being in a football family (both his father and grandfather were coaches), he learned not to care what anyone else saidabout him or his team. He creates an environment where he gets all the fluff out of the way and all that matters is studying the tape and getting the most out of players every single day.. I Want To Believe: . Matt LaFleur, the new head coach for the Green Bay Packers, is married to wife BreAnne, is the father of two boys, and has a brother who is also involved in the National Football League. Staying disciplined on that is a constant challenge for me, LaFleur said. Without it, nothing. Rodgers talked him through it and wiggled the tooth for him. They had lunch al fresco and talked about how Clements could help the Packers. He guesses that if he called him 20 minutes before a Packers game and hes got a problem, LaFleur might skip the pregame speech. And he is so damn good at it, man. The flip side of that is that LaFleur empowers his assistants and wants input, Stenavich said, and lets assistants address the room in ways other coaches might not. Youre not facing the defense, turned toward the running back on the fake for most of the play. Theres no question in my mind I could trust him with anything. Coaching is about many things, but one of the foundational, overlooked aspects is trust. He mentions Tom Clementswho just returned as the Packers quarterbacks coach and who coached him earlier in his careerand former quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, now the offensive coordinator in Cleveland, as people whove given him extremely granular tasks to improve on each day. LaFleur took over for the Green Bay Packers' former head coach, Mike McCarthy, in . Sean McVay, too. I definitely spent my time on the sticks, he says. The Packers never got the ball back and lost the game. Most importantly, it takes these guys. G reen Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur may have just asked for a migraine when Green Bay visits the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. McDaniel said that with everyone in their 20s or early 30s, with no kids, coaches worked 20-hour days just to get Kyle Shanahans workplace affection. Despite social, political, and existential crises, the foundation of my Catholic identity held firm. video. That was the furthest thing from his mind. They are grown men. Josiah Deguara, who had 13 catches for 114 yards last season, is the top tight end under contract. When LaFleur was a kid, family members called him Matty. Three of his childhood friends still call him that. One of the most obvious and clichd observations about pro football is also the most true: The head-coach-quarterback relationship is the most important part of the franchise. "I think he definitely understands that he's the guy in charge. LaFleur began considering one of his new assistants more than a year ago when he asked Rodgers about Tom Clements, who had been an assistant with the Packers for 11 years of Rodgers career before LaFleurs arrival. His name was Kyle Shanahan, and hed been promoted from quarterbacks coach under Gary Kubiak. On the third-and-goal play from the 8 before the field goal, Rodgers threw an incompletion to Davante Adams instead of trying to run even though he appeared to have space.
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