Tag: matt lafleur

Matt LaFleur led Packers to biggest one-year win improvement in team history

The Packers improved by seven wins in 2019, the biggest improvement in team history.

First-year coach Matt LaFleur oversaw the biggest one-year win improvement in the decorated history of the Green Bay Packers franchise.

The Packers won 13 games in 2019, a seven-win jump from a 6-9-1 finish in 2018 and the team’s most victories since 2011. The seven-win improvement beat four other instances of six-win improvements in team history (1928, 1958, 1971, 1988).

It was a historic first season for LaFleur, who was hired by team president Mark Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst exactly a year ago Tuesday.

LaFleur shattered the old franchise record for wins by a first-year coach, winning four more games than the nine won by both Mike Holmgren (1992) and Mike Sherman (2000). He also became the first coach in team history to win a division title in his first season.

The Packers captured the NFC North and finished 6-0 against the division, making LaFleur the first coach since Jim Caldwell in 2009 to win at least 13 games and go undefeated against the division as a first-year coach.

Speaking of 13 wins, LaFleur is now one of just five coaches to win 13 or more games in his first season, joining Caldwell, George Seifert, Jim Harbaugh and Steve Mariucci.

Two of those four coaches advanced to the Super Bowl.

The Packers will host the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round on Sunday at Lambeau Field. LaFleur’s team won seven home games in 2019, setting another franchise record for a first-year coach. Holmgren and Sherman both won six.

How did the Packers improve so greatly in 2019?

LaFleur reinvented the culture in Green Bay, Gutekunst added major help on defense and the offensive line, and the players executed late in games, helping the Packers win eight games by eight or fewer points. The offense committed only 13 turnovers, the defense produced 25 takeaways and both the offense and defense were dominant in the red zone. Oh, and the Packers avoided major injuries and were healthy for much of the regular season.

The NFL record for win improvement in a season is 10, set by the 2009 Colts and 2008 Dolphins.

Packers dealing with ‘a little sickness,’ ahead of playoff game versus Seahawks

We still have to wait until Wednesday for the Packers (13-3) injury report for Sunday’s playoff game versus the Seahawks (11-5), but there is already news about guys in Green Bay missing practice to end last week and to start game week.

We still have to wait until Wednesday for the Packers (13-3) injury report for Sunday’s playoff game versus the Seahawks (11-5), but there is already news about guys in Green Bay missing practice to end last week and to start game week.

Packers dealing with ‘a little sickness,’ ahead of playoff game versus Seahawks (Packerswire)

We still have to wait until Wednesday for the Packers (13-3) injury report for Sunday’s playoff game versus the Seahawks (11-5), but there is already news about guys in Green Bay missing practice to end last week and to start game week.

We still have to wait until Wednesday for the Packers (13-3) injury report for Sunday’s playoff game versus the Seahawks (11-5), but there is already news about guys in Green Bay missing practice to end last week and to start game week.

Packers battling ‘a little bit of sickness’ to start Seahawks week

Rookie LG Elgton Jenkins missed practice on Monday due to an illness going around the Packers facility.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said an illness was going around the building as his team began preparations for Sunday’s playoff showdown with the Seattle Seahawks.

Rookie starter Elgton Jenkins missed practice Monday while recovering from the illness, and others missed time during the off week last week.

“We’ve had a little bit of sickness going around, so that certainly didn’t help things. Hopefully, we’re healthy and ready to go this Sunday,” LaFleur said Monday.

The Packers will host the Seahawks, who beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round, on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Illnesses could affect practice time and prep for players and coaches this week. Left tackle David Bakhtiari is still getting over the bug.

“It’s been going around here,” LaFleur said. “Just trying to remind the guys to practice good hygiene so they don’t get sick. We need everyone at their best this weekend in order to advance.”

Receiver Allen Lazard, fullback Danny Vitale and tight end Robert Tonyan also missed practice, although Lazard and Vitale are coming back from previous injuries. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga remains in concussion protocol but practiced Monday.

The Packers will release the first injury report of the week on Wednesday.

Ranking the first- and second-year head coaches

Coaching in the NFL is rough. It isn’t easy to try and turn teams around. A look at how first- and second-year coaches have done.

Fourteen NFL head coaches are either finishing their first or second year in the current position. Only one, Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, is definitely postseason bound after Week 17 of the 2019 regular season. Ranking the jobs the 14 have done so far.

14. Pat Shurmur

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ben McAdoo was 13-15 in slightly less than two seasons as coach of the New York Giants. Pat Shurmur has followed and gone 9-22 heading into Week 17. He’s had a second overall pick (Saquon Barkley), a sixth overall pick (Daniel Jones) and two other first-rounders. The results do not breed confidence for Shurmur being around in 2020.

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No love for Matt LaFleur as NFL Coach of the Year?

Why isn’t Packers coach Matt LaFleur getting any love for NFL Coach of the Year?

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has already become the first coach in franchise history to win 10 or more games and take the Packers to the postseason in his first year as coach.

The Packers, now 11-3 with two games to go, have improved by five wins over 2018 and have an opportunity to win the NFC North and secure a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs over the final two weeks of the 2019 season.

So why not love for LaFleur as Coach of the Year?

Recent polling of 24 league executives by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network included just one vote for LaFleur, who trailed John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Tomlin.

In fact, LaFleur received the same number of votes as Brian Flores, who is leading the 3-win Dolphins.

The lack of love is probably due in part to the Aaron Rodgers factor. LaFleur inherited a future Hall of Fame quarterback, and coaches rarely get the credit for wins when a football team has a top-level quarterback. Also, the Packers might be 11-3, but they lack a dominant offense or defense and many outsiders still aren’t sold on LaFleur’s team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Still, LaFleur has an opportunity to become just the 10th rookie coach in NFL history to win 12 or more games. The last to do it? Matt Nagy, who went 12-4 with the Chicago Bears last season and won Coach of the Year.

The year before, Sean McVay won the award after leading the Los Angeles Rams to an 11-5 season. That team improved by seven wins.

LaFleur’s Packers can improve by seven wins and get to 13-3 in 2019 if they beat the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to finish the season.

Jim Harbaugh, the last rookie coach to win 13 games, won Coach of the Year with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.

LaFleur would have to overcome other deserving coaches.

McDermott has the Buffalo Bills at 10-4, with a dominant run game and defense leading the way. There’s still a chance they could leapfrog the New England Patriots and win the AFC East.

Harbaugh is leading the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens, who have MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson running a devastatingly effective offense. They lead the NFL in points and are fourth in points allowed.

Shanahan has helped revive the 49ers, who destroyed the Packers in San Francisco in November. His team is second in the league in scoring and fifth in scoring defense.

Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers have stayed alive in the AFC playoff hunt despite losing running back Le’Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown this offseason and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after just two games. The Steelers are 7-2 since a 1-4 start.

LaFleur’s argument is solid, too. He took over a shattered team that had missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons and reinvented the culture inside Lambeau Field. His team doesn’t turn the ball over and has seven wins by one score, and they’ve created an identity of winning that relies on a new player or set of players just about every week. The offense has received 17 total touchdowns from Aaron Jones, and it survived a month-long absence of Davante Adams.

LaFleur probably won’t win NFL Coach of the Year in 2019, but if the Packers get to 13-3, it’ll be hard to vote against him.

The last Packers coach to win NFL Coach of the Year was Lindy Infante in 1989.

Matt LaFleur becomes first Packers coach to make playoffs in first season

Packers coach Matt LaFleur became the franchise’s first coach to make the postseason in his first season.

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.

Packers preparing for Bears DL Akiem Hicks to play Sunday

While the Bears are hoping for DL Akiem Hicks’ grand return Sunday, the Packers are expecting it.

The Chicago Bears are hoping that defensive lineman Akiem Hicks will make his grand return Sunday against their rivals Green Bay Packers. But the Packers are fully expecting it.

“We’re anticipating him playing,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday. “He’s just a guy that you have to account for on every play. He’s a dominant performer and he has been for a while. Just have to be mindful of where he’s at every time he’s out on the field.”

Hicks has been on injured reserve since Week 5 after dislocating his elbow against the Oakland Raiders. He returned to practice last Sunday, and if all goes well he should be activated off IR.

Bears coach Matt Nagy said Hicks participated in practice Wednesday, although it’s worth noting that Wednesday practices are typically walk-through pace. Still, Nagy sounds optimistic that Hicks will return from IR.

“I think we have a good idea,” Nagy said. “None of this is live, again. None of practice is live … Most of it is just communication with him saying, ‘Hey, this is how I feel,’ Trainers saying, ‘This is where he’s at,’ and then creating a plan if it’s something where, if it’s something we’re going to do — which we’re hoping —— then let’s create a plan for it and roll.”

Hicks’ return would surely solidify the middle of that defense. But it would mean so much more than just what he brings to the field physically. He’s one of the leaders of this team.

“I think it’s big, just because he’s one of our more vocal guys — in a good way,” Nagy said. “He’s a leader — he’s a natural-born leader. Take the play out and what he does on the field — just rallying the guys this week in practice, being around and then on game day, you guys always see him out there. He’s a guy that gets everyone going.”

The Bears would greatly benefit from Hicks’ return as they look for redemption against their rivals following that Sept. 5 season-opening loss.

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur sets franchise record for wins in first season

Matt LaFleur is the first Packers coach to get to 10 wins in his first season as coach.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur became the first coach in franchise history to win 10 games in their first season as coach.

The Packers beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday to improve to 10-3 after 13 games. The previous record was set at nine wins by Mike Holmgren (1992) and Mike Sherman (2000).

The Packers won six games in 2018 and seven games in 2017 and missed the postseason each season. At 10-3 with three games to go, LaFleur’s team is in a prime position to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

No first-year Packers coach has ever made the playoffs.

LaFleur’s team has a chance to win the NFC North and secure a first-round bye over the final three games. The Packers finish the 2019 season with games against the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.

Matt LaFleur says he never took being fired by the Redskins personally

The Redskins were the only team to ever fire Matt LaFleur, but it landed him where he is today, so he has no hard feelings.

For the second time this season, the Washington Redskins are preparing to face off against a coach they were once able to call their own.

Matt LaFleur is one of the many coaches who is now finding success outside of Washington, this time around as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. In his first year as a head coach, LaFleur has found great success with Aaron Rodgers up north, as he’s started with a 9-3 record and a good chance to make a run in the playoffs.

Green Bay is the fifth team that he’s coached for, and every time he’s left an old team for a new team, he’s done so on his own accord. That is except for Washington, however. The Redskins are the only team that has fired LaFleur so far.

“I never took it personal, I know that’s part of the business,” LaFleur said, via The Athletic. “I once heard somebody say there are two kinds of coaches. There are coaches who have been fired and there are coaches who are going to get fired. That was my approach to it.”

Back in 2013, LaFleur coached a quarterback room in Washington that featured both Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins. The team finished 3-13 on the season, and he was shown the door. Now, LaFleur has seemingly found his calling as a head coach in the NFL, and he’s done well in his first year, keeping the trend alive of offensive coaches like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay leaving Washington and finding great success.

Maybe someday the Redskins will learn to stop letting their best offensive coaches go find a better home.

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