Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t ready to discuss his future with the team late on Saturday night, following a heartbreaking playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.
“Now’s not the time for that,” he said simply after the team’s stunning 31-27 wild-card loss to the Bears at Soldier Field.
Advertisement
On Sunday afternoon, LaFleur was asked about his future with the organization once again. A little less than 24 hours after the loss, he still didn’t really have much of an answer.
“That’s not the focus right now, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said when asked about his future. “We’re fresh off this loss. My sole focus is on our players, our team, and just trying to find ways to get better.”
LaFleur, who took over in Green Bay ahead of the 2019 season, only has one season left on his current contract with the organization. The NFL Network reported earlier on Saturday that Packers team president Ed Policy was expected to meet with LaFleur shortly after the season to begin negotiating a new contract. Policy and LaFleur spoke briefly on the plane on Saturday night.
[Get more Packers news: Green Bay team feed]
Whether that changes in the wake of the Packers blowing an 18-point lead to the Bears remains to be seen. The Packers had been 9-3-1 before losing five straight games to end the season. All of those losses came after star defensive end Micah Parsons was lost for the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
“We’re not where we want to be,” LaFleur said, according to ESPN. “I know we fought through a lot of adversity this year. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough to overcome that adversity. That’s all of us collectively.”
LaFleur, whose $5 million salary ranks well below the top tier of the league’s coaches, made clear on Saturday night that he wants to return as the Packers’ head coach. While that may not be up to him, he backed that up again on Sunday.
“Of course [I want to return]. This is one of one,” LaFleur said. “I love this place. I love the people. As much as you guys drive me nuts sometimes, I love you guys. I love our players, the locker room, everybody in our organization. This is a unique place … My kids love it here, my family loves it here.”
Advertisement
The Packers have made the playoffs in all but one of LaFleur’s seven seasons as head coach, but have not advanced to the Super Bowl under him. Poor special teams play has continued to prove costly for Green Bay in the postseason. Brandon McManus missed a pair of field goals and an extra point in the loss to the Bears.
“I would say every season is maddening when you end the way we have, especially this season,” LaFleur said. “Adversity is part of this game, and bottom line is you have to find a way to overcome. If you don’t, then you have to answer a lot of questions for it.
While LaFleur has been undoubtedly successful with the Packers, they’ve repeatedly fallen short of a Super Bowl run. Whether that will lead to a coaching change, only time will tell.