On Dec. 7, the Green Bay Packers took the lead in the NFC North and improved to 9-3-1 with a 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
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But the season began to unravel during the Packers‘ next contest, when star pass-rusher Micah Parsons suffered a season-ending ACL injury in a 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos. Green Bay would finish the season losing five games in a row, including two to the Bears.
Following a 31-27 loss to Chicago in the wild-card, there was chatter amongst Packers fans that the team should move on from head coach Matt LaFleur, set to enter 2026 in the final year of his contract. After all, Green Bay went all-in for a Super Bowl before the season by adding Parsons.
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Instead, Packers president Ed Policy gave LaFleur a multi-year contract extension. In response to a fan’s question on Green Bay’s website, Policy explained that he didn’t want to make a knee-jerk reaction after losing to Chicago.
“I’ve heard some of the same negativity you have coming out of the disappointing loss to the Bears and I understand it,” Policy wrote. “I appreciate how deeply our fans care about the success of our team. They hold us to very high expectations and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We are going to continue to do everything we can to meet those expectations.
“Football is an emotional game, and I understand the high emotions that go into a playoff game against our longest-held rival. However, in my seat, you must rise above emotions and analyze objectively an entire body of work to make a long-term decision that puts the team in the best position to compete for Super Bowls year in and year out.”
Policy believes that a “level-headed” approach is the best way for the Packers to build a dynasty.
The “level-headed” approach was also a savvy business move. The Packers are a publicly owned team, and likely wouldn’t have been able to match an offer of $20 million to land a top head coach like John Harbaugh, who signed with the New York Giants.
10 NFL teams had a head coaching vacancy in this hiring cycle, and many organizations have arguably made downgrades because there weren’t enough big-name coaches to fill those positions.
The Packers avoided the worst-case scenario.
It’ll be interesting to see if LaFleur can make enough changes to get Green Bay back to the top.
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