Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Deserved to Be a Coach of the Year Finalist.
The NFL announced its five finalists for Coach of the Year, and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not make the list. While there are other outstanding prospects for this honor, excluding LaFleur from the list of finalists is an unjust decision.
The Packers’ head coach overcame numerous hurdles to lead his club to the playoffs. He had the league’s youngest roster. Prior to this season, the Packers’ starting quarterback had made just one career NFL start. None of the starting wide receivers or tight ends on this roster had more than one year of NFL experience.
The Packers were 2-5 after seven games. The team’s inexperienced receivers were following the incorrect patterns and making terrible readings. Too often, numerous receivers ended up in the same position on the field, drawing a huge number of defenders to the area. Those plays were rarely effective.
Quarterback Jordan Love was struggling with accuracy and understanding defenses. The offense struggled to score in the first half, resulting in a four-game losing run.
At the trade deadline in late October, GM Brian Gutekunst appeared to give up on the season when he moved starting cornerback Rasul Douglas to Buffalo along with a fifth-round pick for a third-round pick.
But LaFleur kept working with his young players. They all persevered and improved. By the second half of the season, the Packers finished 6-2 and Love had a quarterback rating of 100 or better in seven of the team’s final eight games.
LaFleur led the Packers to the playoffs. The team won its final three games when they had no more margin for error. Then, they went into Dallas and crushed the Cowboys. The Packers led 27-0 before Dallas even got on the board. Dallas scored two late touchdowns in garbage time to make the game appear closer, but the game was extremely one-sided.
The Packers then went to San Francisco and gave the top-seeded 49ers all they can handle before ultimately losing the game 24-21 in the closing moments.
The Packers also overcame numerous injuries when turning their season around. Many of their best players missed significant time. Running back Aaron Jones, the catalyst of the offense and one of the few experienced skill-position players, missed six full games and was limited in many others. The offense went to a different level when Jones was fully healthy and able to contribute.
The team’s top receiver, Christian Watson, missed eight games and was limited in several others due to a pair of hamstring injuries. Starting tight end Luke Musgrave suffered a lacerated kidney and missed six games entirely.
All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari played only one game before being lost for the season. Former All Pro inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell missed six games while former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander missed 10 and was limited in others.
LaFleur also had to deal with his defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, whose work was sometimes ineffectual. After three consecutive games in which the team’s passive defensive style made ordinary quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers, LaFleur took over.
He informed the meida that he would spend more time working on the defensive game plan in the final two regular-season games. The defense performed better in those games, despite the fact that it took time away from LaFleur’s customary duties of creating offensive game plans and scripting plays.
Finally, LaFleur overcame the accusation that all of his previous success stemmed from having a potential Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. LaFleur demonstrated that he could win more games this year without Rodgers than he did last season with Rodgers as quarterback.
I’m not arguing LaFleur should win the prize outright, but not having him as one among the five contenders is plain wrong. LaFleur performed an incredible job this season and should be seriously considered for NFL Coach of the Year.
Of course, one Lombardi Trophy is worth ten Coach of the Year accolades, which LaFleur will have to earn.
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