Matt LaFleur just keeps making history in his first season coaching the Green Bay Packers.
Not only does he continue to set a new high for wins by a first-year Packers coach, but he became the first Packers coach to qualify for the postseason in his first season.
The Packers clinched a playoff berth by beating the Chicago Bears and having the Los Angeles Rams lose to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. At the very least, the Packers will be a wildcard team in the NFC.
No other coach in the franchise’s history made the playoffs in his first season in the job. Even Vince Lombardi, the legendary Packers coach, missed the playoffs during his first season in 1959.
LaFleur has 11 wins with two games to go. The previous high for a Packers coach in his first season was nine, set by Mike Sherman and Mike Holmgren.
LaFleur is also the only Packers coach to win seven of his first eight games and the first to win his first three road games.
Can LaFleur continue his season of firsts and become the first Packers coach to win the NFC North in his first season? A playoff game? A Super Bowl?
He’ll get a chance to clinch the division title next Monday against the Minnesota Vikings. Winning the NFC North would guarantee a home playoff game in January.