Tag: matt lafleur

Brian Kelly asked Packers head coach Matt LaFleur for advice on college football’s new headsets

Brian Kelly spoke with the Green Bay Packers’ Matt LaFleur for advice as on-field radio comes to college football.

Beginning this season, college quarterbacks will have radio in their helmets. This might be new to college sports, but it’s been a thing in the NFL for some time.

With the adjustment, LSU head coach said he spoke with Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

“I leaned on Matt LaFleur. He was my quarterback coach, talked to him a little bit about it,” Kelly said, “Obviously, he’s been using it since he’s been in the league, which is a long time.”

Kelly was referencing LaFleur’s time on his Central Michigan staff in 2004 and 2005.

“His biggest concerns are when it goes out. He talked about all the horror stories of when it will go out, when they can’t hear, and how that is really the biggest issue. You have to have a few standard plays the quarterback can call on his own,” Kelly said.

Kelly added the extra communication allows the offense to do a quick huddle and change the tempo of the game.

This is an area where LSU having a veteran fourth-year player like [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] could give the Tigers an added advantage.

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Top things to know from Matt LaFleur’s press conference introducing Jeff Hafley

Top things to know from Matt LaFleur’s press conference introducing new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur answered questions with the assembled media at Lambeau Field after constructing his new coaching staff — including defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley — for the 2024 season and before the start of the NFL Scouting Combine.

Here are the top things to know from the session:

— “A lot of thought and deliberation” went into making a change at defensive coordinator. Called it a “tough decision” to replace Joe Barry but acknowledged it is his job to make tough decisions to help the team.

— Interviewed a lot of candidates, many went on to get coordinator jobs elsewhere. Impressed with Jeff Hafley’s ability to lead and connect. “Excited to see what he’ll bring.”

— LaFleur confirmed the defensive scheme will change, suggesting a 4-3 base. Expects the pieces in place will make an easy transition.

— On defense’s emphasis: “I want us to be fast and physical, and attack the ball. We will be a little more vision-based on the backend.” Thinks the vision to the quarterback will help create more takeaways.

— On Hafley’s experience as a head coach: “He’s sat in the same seat.” Has that perspective, and the two can bounce ideas off each other.

— Emphasis on “making it easy.” Can’t overload players. Want players playing fast. Knowing personnel is key.

— “Definitely” appealing that Hafley comes from a defensive back background. Will “lead from the backend.” Believes Hafley has a great knowledge base of all three levels.

— More vision based? “More visuals on the quarterback.” Reiterates that a big part of the coverage plan will be having more eyes on the quarterback.

— Replacing Chris Gizzi at strength and conditioning coach was another “tough decision.” Didn’t blame strength department for soft tissue injuries in 2023. Said new leadership could be “beneficial.” Likes newcomer Aaron Hill. LaFleur has close relationship with Dustin Perry, the 49ers strength coach and his wife’s first cousin. Hill worked under Perry for five seasons.

— LaFleur said Sean Mannion will be an offensive assistant, working primarily out of the quarterback room. “Love his past experience, coached him before.” Respected his process, the way he prepared. LaFleur said Mannion was getting ready to interview with Bears, so the two jumped on a Zoom call. Mannion eventually picked Packers over Bears. “He’s going to have a bright future for us and in the coaching profession.”

— Defense is about style. Attack the football, approach the ball carrier, relentless every play, effort. Staple of 49ers, Jets, Texans defenses. “It comes down to style of play.”

— Confident the new defensive coaching staff will bring “energy” that translates to the players and product on the field.

Packers WR Jayden Reed and coach Matt LaFleur receive votes for AP NFL awards

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed and coach Matt LaFleur both received at least one vote for 2023 NFL season awards from the Associated Press. 

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed and coach Matt LaFleur both received at least one vote for 2023 NFL season awards from the Associated Press.

Reed received one third-place vote and finished tied for sixth for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

LaFleur received two third-place votes and finished ninth for NFL Coach of the Year.

Reed, a second-round pick, produced 10 total touchdowns and set the Packers’ new rookie record for catches in a season. The NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year ended up being Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.

LaFleur guided the NFL’s youngest team through a difficult early stretch, helped Jordan Love produce a standout first season at quarterback and got the Packers to the playoffs. The NFL’s Coach of the Year ended up being Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.

The Packers received no votes in voting for NFL Assistant Coach of the Year, NFL MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Former Packers edge rusher Julius Peppers was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He played in Green Bay from 2014 to 2016, tallying 25.0 sacks across 48 regular season games and making the Pro Bowl in 2015.

Lifelong Packers fan Tom Grossi, who hosts a podcast and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, was named NFL Fan of the Year.

Mike Shanahan’s impressive coaching tree continues to bear fruit

Mike Shanahan’s coaching staff in Washington included Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris, now all HCs.

Mike Shanahan’s coaching tree continues to branch out, and each branch is bearing fruit.

As has been well documented, Shanahan built an impressive coaching staff in Washington in 2013 that included Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris.

Kyle Shanahan, Mike’s son, was Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2013. The younger Shanahan is now the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and he has reached his second Super Bowl since 2019. The 49ers have also made the NFC championship game in four of the last five seasons.

Matt Lafleur (Washington’s quarterbacks coach in 2013) has served as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach since 2019. He has reached the playoffs four times in his first five seasons, including two appearances in the NFC title game.

Sean McVay (Washington’s former tight ends coach) has been the Los Angeles Rams’ head coach since 2017. He has made the playoffs five times in seven seasons and won Super Bowl LVI in 2021.

Mike McDaniel (Washington’s wide receivers coach in 2013) has served as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach since 2022. Miami has qualified for the playoffs in each of McDaniel’s first two seasons.

Raheem Morris (Washington’s former defensive backs coach) was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach this offseason.

A sixth assistant coach from Shanahan’s tree, Bobby Slowik, was also a head coach candidate this offseason, but he will remain an offensive coordinator with the Houston Texans in 2024. Slowik was a defensive assistant with Washington in 2013.

And before Shanahan went to Washington, his coaching staff with the Denver Broncos included Gary Kubiak, who later won a Super Bowl as head coach with the Broncos in 2015.

Shanahan won three Super Bowls, including two titles as head coach in Denver. Shanahan’s final season as a head coach did not go well in Washington as his team went 3-13, but elements of his offense are still seen across the NFL today and his coaching tree continues to have success.

Shanahan has been repeatedly passed over by Hall of Fame voters in the coach/contributor category. He should already be in the Hall of Fame. Here’s a quick list of Shanahan’s assistants who went on to become head coaches.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur not yet ready to make final decision on Joe Barry’s future

Packers coach Matt LaFleur wants to go through the process before making a final decision on Joe Barry’s future as the defensive coordinator.

Matt LaFleur met with the media Monday morning to close out the 2023 season. Before the first question could be asked, in his opening comments, LaFleur let it be known that no decision was made about Joe Barry’s future with the Green Bay Packers.

In fact, the process that is involved in making that decision hadn’t yet begun.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of long-term, big picture questions,” said LaFleur. “I’m not there yet, fellas. We’re just, like I said, we’re just starting the process. I gave everybody off yesterday. I came in yesterday and watched the tape, all three phases, but we’re just getting into the evaluation portion right now.

“So, probably not going to have many answers for you guys, haven’t met with any of our coaches yet. That’ll start this afternoon.”

From Week 17 on, the Packers defense did make improvements. However, that also coincides with when LaFleur said he needed to be more “present,” as he put it, on that side of the ball.

It’s not only in those final games that we saw improved play by the defense, but we also saw different approaches from the Packers. There was less rigidity in sticking with their standard shell defense.

At various times, the Packers would not only blitz more but with multiple or different players, like Keisean Nixon. The Packers utilized different fronts, including Karl Brooks at defensive end and Lukas Van Ness with his hand in the dirt. There was also a heavy dose of disguised coverages against Dallas, and overall, the communication was much improved.

So how much of that was Barry, and how much of that was LaFleur? We can only guess and will probably never know the answer.

“I think it was all the above,” said LaFleur when asked whether it was scheme or better play that led to the improvement. “That’s going to be part of the conversation.”

How much LaFleur was involved in the game plan to end the season is going to be a huge factor in the decision. If he was even somewhat heavily involved, then it’s simply time to find a new defensive coordinator.

As the head coach, there needs to be trust that the coordinators can put together a well-crafted game plan and get the position coaches to buy into it so they can help get the players to execute on it. If that trust isn’t there, then it’s time to move on.

The amount of time in the day is also a factor. If LaFleur was more involved with the defense over the last five games, can that be sustained over the course of an entire season? My guess is no, which, again, would be another reason to move on.

Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported that Barry is under contract for the 2024 season, meaning that the team would have to fire him rather than simply moving on if his contract were up.

The Packers laid a solid foundation in 2023 and have a tremendous jumping-off point heading into 2024, where a new contention window could be wide open. Anywhere that the team can get incrementally better to maximize the potential opportunity ahead needs to be made.

Looking back at the loss to San Francisco, we all saw how small the margin for error is in the playoffs. One play here or there is the difference between a win and a loss.

If the Packers feel they can get even four percent better on defense, what does that look like over the course of the season when those incremental improvements to the game plan, or how things are taught or the execution build upon each other? Does Saturday’s loss become a win?

As far as when a decision – either way – will be made, LaFleur said he will go through the process at “his own pace.” For what it’s worth, it was about a full week after the season ended that he moved on from special teams coordinators Shawn Mennenga and Maurice Drayton.

We are probably still too close to Saturday’s loss for a decision of this magnitude to be made. As LaFleur said Monday, the disappointment still stings. Ultimately, this decision shouldn’t come down to the Packers’ performance against the 49ers or even how the last month-plus of the season ended. There is a body of work of three seasons for LaFleur to evaluate.

“Like I said,” added LaFleur, “that’s going to be the next step, is to kind of go through and figure out how we can be a little bit more consistent. And it’s not just on defense. It’s in every phase, right?

“We certainly had our moments on teams and on offense as well where there was, there’s always going to be moments of struggle, but how can we be a little bit more consistent. Looking at what we do well. How can we best put our players in position to have success and that’s going to be part of this next process.”

Highlights of Matt LaFleur’s press conference to end 2023 season

Highlights from Matt LaFleur’s 30-minute, season-ending press conference to wrap up the 2023 season.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur wrapped up the 2023 season during a 30-minute press conference on Monday from inside Lambeau Field. The Packers finished 9-8, made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, beat the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium but came up just short of upsetting the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium.

Here are the highlights from LaFleur’s season-ending appearance:

— LaFleur said he was “so proud” of his team for holding on and battling. Team improved greatly from start to end of the year.

— Felt like the Packers “outplayed” the 49ers for the “majority” of the game on Saturday night. Didn’t make the critical plays.

— On the future and improving: “Just because we got to a certain spot, doesn’t mean that’s guaranteed moving forward. The expectation is when they come back on April 15, they’re better than the team that left today.” Said coaches are meeting with players to highlight one or two things to work on in the early phase of the offseason.

— LaFleur hasn’t met with coaches, still in the evaluation phase of the season wrap up. Expecting to meet with coordinators and position coaches starting Monday.

— Why did the Packers improve? “We were committed to our process for the full season.” Fighting through tough times and sticking together helped the growth.

— On heightened expectations: “Just understand, the expectations going into this (past) season are not going to be the same expectations going into next season, and they’ve earned that. With that, you better put in the work, nothing is guaranteed.”

— LaFleur said the Packers “have a plan in place” to help Christian Watson fix his recurring hamstring injuries. “That’s something we need to figure out because he’s an impact player…we’re better when he’s on the grass.”

— On returning assistants: “Haven’t even thought about that.”

— On Tom Rinaldi’s FOX report on Anders Carlson: “Extremely disappointed” in how it was portrayed. Has talked to Carlson about it. Said he made a joke and called it a “learning experience” for himself.

— LaFleur said the Packers would consider adding competition at kicker but the team wants competition at all positions.

— On Jordan Love: “Every situation he’s been in, he’s learned from it.” Said Love forced the pass on the final drive. “There was nothing there, and sometimes the best play was a throwaway.”

— LaFleur said he thought there were “10 plays” that could have changed the outcome of the game. We here at Packers Wire identified 15.

— LaFleur on Love: “He had a hell of a year.” Praised Love’s growth as a “commander” of the offense.

— LaFleur on Jon Runyan Jr.: “He’s been a very valuable member of our football team these past few years.” Doesn’t know what will happen with his future. Runyan is a free agent.

— LaFleur said he’ll “go through the process” at his own pace in terms of deciding his coaching staff moving forward.

— On Jaire Alexander’s response after his suspension: “I thought he did an outstanding job.” Communication improved between the two after. “I love how he responded. That’s life. You have two choices. You can go in the tank or you can learn and grow and be better for it.”

— LaFleur wouldn’t rule out giving up playcalling if he thought it would improve the team. Has a lot of confidence in Adam Stenavich. Open to anything.

— On Tom Clements returning: Wants him to return…still determining if Clements wants to come back for another year. “I’m hopeful.” Highly complimentary of what Clements brought to the team over the last few seasons.

— On Aaron Jones entering age-30 season: “Tough” to evaluate aging running backs, but the “product looked pretty good to me.” Jones finished with five straight 100-yard rushing game. Mentioned impact on offense, team and locker room.

— Understands expectations are going to go up. “I’d be disappointed if we didn’t improve.”

— Mentioned once again that he feels like the loss in Pittsburgh was the season’s big turning point.

— On David Bakhtiari: Possible he’s the left tackle in 2024. “He’s a hell of a player and he a big-time injury. We’ll evaluate that, get more information, talk to Dave, and some of those decisions will be made in the near future.”

— On late-game scenarios: “That’s an area we need to improve on, those end-of-game situations. Jordan and I have talked about that, what we’re calling, what we’re asking guys to do.” Said he’s seen growth, and he thinks late-game is an area where the Packers could improve with more time on task in 2024.

— LaFleur said he believes there is no long-term concern over A.J. Dillon’s stinger injury in his neck. Dillon’s value as a runner magnified at the end of the year. “I told him, I’d love to have him back here.”

— LaFleur said Brian Gutekunst and the front office “hit the jackpot” on the last few draft classes. “Getting guys who love football, love the grind.” Loved seeing the growth of the young players over the course of the year.

— Any worry about a fracturing locker room during the season: “There were some trying moments, no doubt about it, but I think that’s true of every season…what you don’t want is for the world to see some of the cracks.” Said he wants business kept in-house. Wants business kept in-house better moving forward, but everyone stuck together.

— On special teams: Wants a winning performance each and every game. Margins are so thin on the special teams rankings (Gosselin). “Finding ways to be a little more consistent.” Loves the culture of the special teams. “I think we’re tough, we’re competitive.” Thinks they can be better moving forward.

Matt LaFleur: Heightened expectations for 2024 Packers but nothing guaranteed

Matt LaFleur knows expectations will be heightened entering 2024, but his young Packers team must meet the challenge of the offseason to grow and improve.

The Green Bay Packers laid a solid foundation in 2023 and will now be expected to soar to new heights in 2024 and beyond. But doing so begins with how this young team attacks the offseason.

“We’ve got to have a championship offseason,” said outside linebacker Preston Smith. “So everything rolls into the season because, at the end of the day, those games come back to following your training, trusting your technique and trusting everything you worked hard for this offseason.

“Coming into this next season, we’ve got to focus on the things that we can improve on, make sure that our weaknesses are our strengths, and we improve on the things we’re good at.”

Jordan Love was one of the best quarterbacks in football for the final two months of the season. The Packers have a litany of pass-catching options and a run game behind Aaron Jones and an offensive line that produced five straight 100-yard performances to close out the year.

Even defensively, with all the ups and downs that took place and uncertainty around Joe Barry’s future in those final weeks, this group finished the season playing some of its best football.

Along with all of that, the Packers have very few unrestricted free agents, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Their cap situation, while not great, is much improved over where it was this year, and they’ll have five picks in the top 100 of the 2024 draft.

Expectations are going to be sky-high for this Packers team in 2024, and that includes both inside the building and out.

“We’re coming with a purpose. We want to win it all. Feel like we could have did it this year. But next year, like I said, I’m very optimistic on that. We’ve got the guys in the building. We’ve got everything we need to get it done. We’ve set a good foundation this year. We just got to go win.”

However, while the Packers appear to be positioned well for a multi-year run where they will have the Super Bowl in their sights, Matt LaFleur also made clear that nothing is guaranteed either.

“I also re-iterated to them,” said LaFleur, “that just because we got to a certain spot doesn’t mean that’s guaranteed moving forward. So, what are we going to do to get better? And the expectation is that when they come back April 15th, they’re better than the team that left today and that’s not just going to happen by chance. You’ve got to work at it, and you’ve got to put in a lot of hard work, you’ve got to have a great plan.”

I’m sure many thought that the 2010 Green Bay Packers were not only going to be back to another Super Bowl at some point, but also have a great opportunity to win another as well. But as we all know, neither of those things happened.

LaFleur said that each player will meet with their position coaches and be given one to two things to work on in the coming months. Then, hopefully, when the team reconvenes mid-April for OTAs, strides will have been made and other areas of emphasis can be given to them.

“A word that we used a lot in there was intentional,” said Josh Myers at his locker on Monday. “I think it has to be extremely intentional work. Picking out the flaws in your game and fixing those flaws and just making ourselves, healthy, strong, fast, and ready to go for next season.”

The players will have some time to decompress but then it’s time to get back to the grind, as LaFleur put it.

The Packers’ locker room on Monday was filled with emotion, knowing how close they were to playing this week in the NFC Championship. But there was also optimism about what lies ahead as well.

This young team overcame a lot this season. Things very easily could have spiraled out of control, but instead, this group continued to believe in each other and did what many considered to be unthinkable, in turning this season around and having the NFC’s top-seeded 49ers on the ropes.

Tremendous strides were made, but as we saw in that fourth quarter on Saturday, there is still work to be done to fully capitalize on what this Packers team established this season. And while the season just ended, that work begins now.

“Like I told the team,” added LaFleur, “you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. You’re never staying the same. I think the expectations are going to be higher.

“I think our standards that we’ve developed over the course of the year through our process, to how we practice, to how we go out and compete, I would expect them to continue to improve. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t get better.”

Matt LaFleur hated how ‘praying’ quote about Packers kicker Anders Carlson became unwarranted controversy

Matt LaFleur doesn’t like when people put words in his mouth.

Even the Buffalo Bills will tell you this (twice). You don’t lose playoff games because of one missed kick. Heartbreaking postseason defeat is usually a matter of several mistakes compounding on one another.

This also applies to the Green Bay Packers, who fell just short of an NFC title game appearance partly because of an Anders Carlson missed kick. After the loss, a quote from Fox’s Tom Rinaldi about how Matt LaFleur “prays” every time Carlson lines up for a kick went viral. Carlson had the NFL’s 24th-best kicking percentage this season and was not usually someone the Packers could rely on.

But even still, the way everyone ran with LaFleur’s quote about Carlson irked the Packers head coach. Because according to LaFleur, that’s not what he meant about his kicker:

As LaFleur explained, he meant “praying” in the sense that Carlson’s kick attempts are always out of his control, not that he didn’t have faith in his player. I’m inclined to believe this explanation because the easy conclusion from the Fox report would’ve been to pile on an athlete for making a massive mistake in a big game and running with it. Without full context, it’s irresponsible for anyone to assert LaFleur didn’t believe in one of his players. Coaches talking trash about their players publicly is a rare exception, not the norm.

Good for LaFleur for stepping to the microphone and quashing this unwarranted controversy.

Jordan Love’s final interception was a bit too much like a certain Brett Favre mistake

Jordan Love’s game-sealing interception against the 49ers reminded everybody a bit too much of a former Brett Favre mistake.

The deep cross-body throw is one of the most difficult feats a quarterback can attempt — it is not a high-percentage play. You’re throwing against your own momentum, usually with one or more angry defenders in your face, and you’re trying to hit a target 30 or more yards downfield, when you factor in the horizontal yardage involved. And if you’re making a throw like that in a game-defining situation.., well, you’d better be pretty sure of yourself.

One quarterback who was always sure of himself, to his own detriment at times, was Hall of Famer and negatively creative financeur Brett Favre. Ol’ No. 4 did most of his work with the Green Bay Packers, but near the end of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2009 season, Favre threw a cross-body pick to New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, causing the game to go into overtime. The Saints drove downfield, won the game with a 40-yard Garrett Hartley field goal, and we had the game that changed the overtime rules.

In Saturday’s divisional-round game between the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, it was Jordan Love who had a similar situation. With 52 seconds left in the game, and the 49ers up 24-21, Love tried a deep cross-body pass to receiver Christian Watson that was intercepted by linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

The throws, and the results, were alarmingly similar.

“I haven’t looked at it yet,” Love said after the game of that last throw. “I haven’t looked at any pictures, so looking back on it, yeah, throw it away. I don’t know if I had an opportunity to be able to run. Maybe get out of bounds, but I forced it across the middle late, which is a mortal sin. It’s something I’ll look at. That’s an area right there where I’ll be able to look at, grow from and get better in the future.”

Matt LaFleur’s quote about always ‘praying’ before Anders Carlson kicks got roasted after Packers kicker missed

That’s not great, especially in a playoff game.

First off: The Green Bay Packers didn’t lose their divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers because Anders Carlson missed a key kick in the fourth quarter.

It still would have been 24-17, with the Niners able to tie the game. Sure, it didn’t help, but there was also that Jordan Love game-sealing interception and a few other rough moments.

That said, there’s one quote about Carlson that had everyone raising their eyebrows: Fox’s Tom Rinaldi reported that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that whenever Carlson goes out to kick, “I just pray.”

Not great! While I’m sure a lot of head coaches do the same, it doesn’t sound good. Other NFL fans and others agreed: