News broke Monday evening that Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst has found the next head coach of the 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packers, in Matt LaFluer.
His name isn’t Mike or Vince, but he comes from the new age coaching lineage. Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers are the hottest coaching names around the National Football League. Both are offensive-minded head coaches, who are young and creative. Matt LaFleur fits that mold. Not only that, he worked with both of them. He will presumably bring the same offensive approach and similar scheme with him to Green Bay that McVay is running in LA.
When Ted Thompson was looking to replace Mike Sherman, he found a young innovative and creative offensive coordinator in Mike McCarthy. His job at the time was to rejuvenate Brett Favre and get him back to being the Ol’ gunslinger.
Now, Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst were on the same quest to find the next Sean McVay. An up and coming offensive coordinator who is creative and can not only push Aaron Rodgers but who get Aaron to play like the MVP quarterback who all know. Matt LaFleur is the guy who is responsible for returning Aaron Rodgers back to form.
LaFleur was the last of 10 candidates to be interviewed for the Packers Head Coaching position by Mark Murphy, Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball. The trio interviewed LaFleur on Sunday and were so impressed that they quickly made their decision.
LaFluer was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee this past season. Ironically, the Titans visited Lambeau Field the first week of the pre-season this year. In Tennessee he was the play caller, which was his first season handling those duties. The offense didn’t exactly light up the league. They finished 25th in total offense with 312 yards per game, and 27th in scoring with 19 points per game. LaFleur did run the ball heavily in Tennessee this year. So, there could be a more balanced attack in Green Bay next season.
Before spending the 2018 season as the Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator, he was the offensive coordinator with Rams under Sean McVay but did not call the plays. He was the quarterback coach in Atlanta from 2015-2016 coaching Matt Ryan. He spent the 2014 season in the college ranks as the quarterback coach at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly. From 2010 – 2013 he worked with Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan in Washington as LaFleur was the quarterback coach.
According to numerous reports on Monday, LaFleur had Mike Pettine on his list as defensive coordinator. Which surely impressed Murphy and Gutekunst as they were hopeful that the new coach would keep him. This would insure that Pettine sticks around to try and finish what he started.
It’s now LaFleur’s job to get the Packers back to the playoffs and in Super Bowl contention.
Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag
