Matt LaFleur

Matthew Robert LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame, and the Atlanta Falcons and the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams and the Tennessee Titans.

Playing career

Matthew Robert LaFleur was born on November 3, 1979 to Denny and Kristi LaFleur. Denny had been a linebacker at Central Michigan University, winning a national championship in 1974 and at one point holding their record for the most career tackles, before becoming a long-time assistant football coach at the school. Kristi was a physical education and health teacher who coached track and cheerleading. Kristi's father coached football at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Their son was raised in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and played football at the city's high school. He started at quarterback for them in his junior and senior years, and played well enough to earn all-state honors, He graduated in 1998.

Despite his family's strong ties to Central Michigan University, LaFleur chose to enroll at their rival Western Michigan University after Central Michigan football head coach Dick Flynn fired his father in 1997. LaFleur joined Western's football team as a walk on player but saw no playing time. After two years, he was asked by Western's coaches to swap from quarterback to wide receiver. They argued that with Tim Lester's success, LaFleur had no viable path to getting on the field. LaFleur instead decided to transfer out of the program.

LaFleur transferred to Saginaw Valley State in Division II. He became their starting quarterback after Garrett Small suffered a career-ending injury in the first game of the season. LaFleur's play helped the Cardinals reach the D-II playoffs in each of his three years at the school. During his three-year run as the Cardinal quarterback, SVSU compiled a record of 29–8 overall and qualified for the NCAA Division II Playoffs each year. LaFleur left Saginaw Valley State as their all-time leader in passing yards (7,699), completions, and passing touchdowns (67). LaFleur was inducted into the SVSU Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.

LaFleur briefly played professionally in the National Indoor Football League with the Omaha Beef as the backup quarterback in 2003 and, the following summer, signed with the Billings Outlaws.

Coaching career

Early years

LaFleur's coaching career began in 2003 at Saginaw Valley State as an offensive graduate assistant. He also substitute taught in the local high schools (Garber High School), specializing in math. LaFleur proceeded to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and assisted the offensive staff in 2004 and 2005. His first full-time coaching job was at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, where he was the quarterbacks coach under Bernie Anderson. After one year at Northern, LaFleur spent the 2007 football season as the offensive coordinator for Ohio's Ashland University.

Houston Texans

LaFleur then was hired in 2008 by the Houston Texans to serve as an offensive assistant. He assisted both wide receivers and quarterbacks during his two-year stint there and developed a close relationship with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Washington Redskins

When Shanahan's father Mike was hired by the Washington Redskins, Kyle brought LaFleur to Washington to coach the quarterbacks in 2010. From 2011 to 2013, LaFleur worked alongside 4 other future head coaches in Washington; Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, and Raheem Morris. A primary responsibility of LaFleur's for the 2012 season was to mentor rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins.

Notre Dame

After six years of coaching in the NFL, LaFleur returned to college football as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Notre Dame in 2014. LaFleur tutored senior quarterback Everett Golson who posted 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air, helping him become just the fourth quarterback in school history to eclipse such totals in a single season.

Atlanta Falcons

On February 5, 2015, LaFleur returned to the NFL as the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons working under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, with whom he had previously worked while with the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans. LaFleur's younger brother, Mike, was also an offensive assistant with the Falcons.

In 2016, LaFleur coached Matt Ryan on his way to winning his sole NFL MVP award. The Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots, but squandered a 28–3 lead and lost in overtime, a monumental meltdown that drew heavy fan and media criticism.

Los Angeles Rams

On February 8, 2017, LaFleur joined the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff as offensive coordinator, working under head coach Sean McVay, with whom he had previously worked during his tenure with the Washington Commanders. Under LaFleur and McVay, the Rams finished the year with an 11–5 record and as the league's number one scoring offense, scoring 478 points through 16 games.

Tennessee Titans

On January 30, 2018, LaFleur left his position with the Rams to take the same position with the Tennessee Titans. Joining new head coach Mike Vrabel, LaFleur's role in directing the offense increased, as he had play-calling responsibilities unlike during his tenure with the Rams. The season was plagued with injuries, with the Titans losing star tight end Delanie Walker in Week 1, and Mariota dealing with an incessant nerve injury throughout the season. LaFleur and the Titans finished the season with the 27th ranked scoring offense in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers

LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers on On May 30, 2019, LaFleur suffered a torn Achilles while playing basketball. LaFleur also led the Packers to a 2–2 preseason.

2019 season

On September 5, 2019, LaFleur made his regular-season head coaching debut against the Chicago Bears, and led the Packers to a 10–3 victory. He also became the first Green Bay coach to win his first game against the Bears since Vince Lombardi in 1959. The Packers finished with a 13–3 record in LaFleur's first season as a head coach, and in the process, LaFleur became the first Packers rookie head coach to win 10 games, make the playoffs, and win the NFC North (as well as going 6–0 in division play in the process). In addition, the 13 wins were the most from a rookie coach since Jim Harbaugh did it with the 49ers in 2011.

LaFleur led Green Bay to their first postseason berth since the 2016 season as the NFC's number two seed, as he won his postseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks 28–23 in the divisional round of the playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where the Packers fell to the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers 37–20.

2020 season

The Packers began the 2020 season by winning all four games prior to an early Week 5 bye. After a 5–1 start to the season, the Packers dropped a home game 22–28 to the Minnesota Vikings, the team's first loss in the division under LaFleur. Despite this, the Packers continued playing well, and LaFleur clinched his second consecutive NFC North title and playoff berth in Week 14 with a 31–24 victory against the Detroit Lions. With a 35–16 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 17, Green Bay clinched the NFC's number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 season. The Packers also closed the season out on a six-game winning streak, and LaFleur extended his win–loss record in December games to 9–0.

LaFleur finished with a 26–6 record in his first two seasons as coach, tied for the second-best start for a coach since the 1970 merger (only George Seifert, at 28–4, has a better record). His team finished as the league's number one offense, scoring 509 points over the course of the season, and with quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing for a Packers franchise-record 48 touchdowns.

In the playoffs, LaFleur and the Packers hosted the Los Angeles Rams, who had the league's number one scoring defense and were led by one of LaFleur's former bosses, Rams coach Sean McVay. The Packers defeated the Rams, 32–18, to host the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2007, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31–26. LaFleur was criticized for his decision to kick a field goal down 31–23 instead of trying to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion under league MVP Aaron Rodgers.

2021 season

LaFleur's 2021 season began with a 38–3 loss to the New Orleans Saints. They proceeded to win each of their next six games to bring the 6–1 Packers to a Thursday night showdown with the NFL's last unbeaten team, the 7–0 Arizona Cardinals. In addition to playing on the road on a short week, the Packers were forced to play without their top three wide receivers, after Davante Adams and Allen Lazard tested positive for COVID-19 and Marquez Valdes-Scantling remained out with a hamstring injury since Week 3. Despite the challenges, the Packers emerged victorious, 24–21 with a thrilling last-minute interception of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray by cornerback Rasul Douglas, and LaFleur became the winningest head coach through his first 40 career games in NFL history.

The following week, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, and LaFleur named second-year quarterback Jordan Love the starter for their Week 9 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Although Love was relentlessly blitzed during his first career start, he managed to complete 19 of 34 passes for 190 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. LaFleur took the blame for not being able to counter the Chiefs' aggressive defensive strategies. Special teams miscues ultimately cost the Packers the game, falling 7–13 to drop them to 7–2.

The Packers then shut out Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson the following week, the first such occurrence in his career, to win their Week 10 game 17–0. In Week 11, LaFleur's Packers fell 31–34 to their division rival Minnesota Vikings, but rebounded to win 36–28 against LaFleur's former boss Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams the following week. The Packers clinched their third consecutive NFC North title with a tight 31–30 Week 15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. LaFleur became the first head coach since Dallas's Barry Switzer to win the division in each of his first three years as head coach.

With a 37–10 Week 17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, LaFleur's Packers clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and became the first team in NFL history to win 13 games a season in 3 consecutive years. In addition, LaFleur broke a 30-year-old record by George Seifert for the most wins by a head coach (39) through his first 3 seasons in the league. The win also meant to this point in his career, LaFleur had never lost consecutive regular season games during his 3-year tenure.

The Packers dealt with a notable amount of injuries throughout the season. Top outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith had not played since Week 1, while top cornerback Jaire Alexander had been out since spraining his shoulder in Week 4. Top left tackle David Bakhtiari tore his ACL during the 2020 season, and didn't return until Week 18. His replacement, Elgton Jenkins, was lost for the season with a similar ACL injury in Week 11. In addition, starting tight end Robert Tonyan met a similar fate during the Packers' Week 8 showdown in Arizona.

At the end of the regular season, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named NFL MVP for the second consecutive year and fourth time overall. Rodgers noted LaFleur's contributions to his winning MVP in 2 of LaFleur's 3 seasons as head coach. Rodgers became the first player in the NFL to win consecutive MVP awards in 12 years, when Peyton Manning won in 2008 and 2009. In the playoffs, they lost their first game to the San Francisco 49ers, 13–10, giving LaFleur a 2–3 postseason record and no Super Bowl appearances in their three straight 13-win seasons. He took the blame for the Packers’ poor special teams effort, particularly one play where they were missing a man on the field during San Francisco's game-winning field goal.

2022 season

LaFleur's 2022 season as head coach began with another opening day loss, this time to the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers would go on to win 3 straight, however, after the 3–1 start the season started to fall apart. In their next 8 games they would just go 1–7, making their record on the year 4–8.

The Packers won their next 4 games in a row to get back to a .500 record, setting up a matchup with the Detroit Lions at home with a playoff berth on the line. The Packers would ultimately lose 20–16, finishing with an 8–9 record and giving Matt LaFleur his first losing season as head coach, as well as his first missing the playoffs.

2023 season

In the offseason, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets, leaving 2020 first round pick Jordan Love as the team's starting quarterback. In Week 1, the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 38–20, marking the Packers' first win without Aaron Rodgers as the starter since December 10, 2017, when they defeated the Cleveland Browns 27–21. It was also LaFleur's first opening week win since 2020. The Packers would go on to start the season 2–1, before losing four straight games and dropping to a 3–6 record.

In Week 12, the Packers upset the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, their first win against the Lions since Week 3 of the 2021 season. The following week, the Packers played the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, winning 27–19 and bringing them back up to a .500 record.

The Packers would go on to lose their next two games, before winning three straight, including a 17–9 win over the Bears, to claim the 7th seed in the NFC and head back to the playoffs.

In the Wild Card Round, the Packers traveled to AT&T Stadium to take on the #2 seed Dallas Cowboys. The Packers jumped out to an early 27–0 lead, and held on to beat the Cowboys 48–32, the first win by a #7 seed in NFL history. The win made LaFleur 3–0 against the Cowboys and 2–0 at AT&T Stadium. The Packers then lost for the 5th consecutive time in the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers.

2024 season

In May 2024, LaFleur suffered a torn pectoral muscle while lifting weights. He led the Packers to a 11–6 record, which qualified the team for the playoffs. The Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 22–10 in the Wild Card Round.

Head coaching record

Personal life

LaFleur is married to BreAnne, whom he met in college, and they have two sons, Luke and Ty. His younger brother, Mike, is the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. LaFleur was the best man at Robert Saleh's wedding, as the two became close while working as graduate assistants at Central Michigan and as assistant coaches for the Houston Texans from 2008 to 2009, where they were colloquially known as the "Piss Boys."

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at Pro Football Reference

Green Bay Packers profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaFleur, Matt
1979 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American football wide receivers
Atlanta Falcons coaches
Ashland Eagles football coaches
Billings Outlaws players
Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches
Green Bay Packers head coaches
Houston Texans coaches
Los Angeles Rams coaches
Northern Michigan Wildcats football coaches
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches
Omaha Beef players
Sportspeople from Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Players of American football from Michigan
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football coaches
Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football players
Washington Redskins coaches
Western Michigan Broncos football players
NFL offensive coordinators
American people of French descent
Coaches of American football from Michigan