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At least Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur still has the support of one of the faces of the franchise.
LaFleur’s future is up in the air after the Packers collapsed in a 31-27 loss to the Chicago Bears in the NFC wild-card round. Green Bay led 21-3 entering the third quarter but scored just six points for the rest of the game.
The Packers have now suffered consecutive first-round playoff exits, making LaFleur’s seat even hotter. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, however, believes the coach shouldn’t be the scapegoat for the team’s recent postseason failures.
Jordan Love defends Matt LaFleur
“I definitely think Matt should be the head coach,” Love told the media postgame. “I’ve got a lot of love for Matt, and I think he does a good job. And that’s it.”
Since becoming Packers HC in 2019, LaFleur has a 76-40-1 regular-season record and has played an instrumental role in transitioning from former QB Aaron Rodgers (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers) to Love. In three seasons as the Packers starting QB, the 2020 first-round pick has a 27-20-1 regular-season record and has tossed 83 TD passes and 31 interceptions.
However, he has yet to win a Super Bowl and hasn’t guided the Packers to an NFC Championship Game appearance since the 2020 season. Potential upgrades are available on the head-coaching market. Green Bay could reportedly target Super Bowl champion John Harbaugh, recently fired by the Baltimore Ravens, if it moves on from LaFleur.
“I’m not going to jump to any conclusions or anything,” Love said of rumors regarding LaFleur. “We’ll see what happens going forward. That’s the case for the end of every season and going into the offseason, that’s always the case. We’ll see if anything comes forward, if anything. So, we’ll see.”
In a postgame news conference, LaFleur dodged questions about his future. However, he praised Love — who threw four touchdown passes against the Bears — for “playing his [butt] off.” Still, the QB’s effort wasn’t enough to save the Packers’ season. It also may not have been enough to save the coach’s job.
