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Matt LaFleur

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Matt LaFleur
LaFleur with the Packers
Green Bay Packers
Position: Head Coach
Personal information
Born: November 3 1979 (1979-11-03) (age 45)
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Personal information
High school: Mount Pleasant
(Mount Pleasant, Michigan)
College: Saginaw Valley State
Career history
As coach:

Matthew LaFleur (born November 3, 1979[1]) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has spent time as quarterbacks coach of the Washington Football Team and the Atlanta Falcons and has been the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans.

Playing career[]

Born and raised in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, LaFleur attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and played wide receiver in 1998 and 1999. He transferred to Saginaw Valley State in Division II, and he played quarterback from 2000 to 2002, guiding the Cardinals to the D-II playoffs each season.[2]

LaFleur briefly played in the National Indoor Football League with the Omaha Beef as the backup quarterback, and the following summer, signed with the Billings Outlaws in Montana.[3]

Coaching career[]

Early years[]

LaFleur's coaching career began in 2003 at his alma mater, Saginaw Valley State, as an offensive graduate assistant, during which time he also substitute taught in the local high schools, specializing in math. LaFleur proceeded to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and assisted the offensive staff in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he coached quarterbacks and receivers at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. LaFleur was the offensive coordinator at Ashland University in Ohio in 2007.[4]

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.[5] A primary responsibility of LaFleur's for the 2012 season was to mentor rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins.[6]

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. [7]

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 with while with the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans. LaFleur's younger brother, Mike, was also an offensive assistant with the Falcons.[8]

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 large lead and lost 34–28 in overtime.[9]

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 Redskins.[10] 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.[11]

Tennessee Titans[]

On January 30, 2018, LaFleur left his position with the Rams to take the same position with the Tennessee Titans.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] LaFleur and the Titans finished the season with the 27th ranked scoring offense in the NFL.[15]

Green Bay Packers[]

LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers on January 8, 2019.[16] On May 30, 2019, LaFleur suffered a torn Achilles while playing basketball.[17] LaFleur also led the Packers to a 2–2 preseason.[18]

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.[19] He also became the first Green Bay coach to win his first game against the Bears since Vince Lombardi in 1959.[20] 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[]

In their second year under coach LaFleur, the Packers started the season by winning all four games prior to an early Week 5 bye. After a 5–1 start, LaFleur lost his first ever divisional game, with a 22–28 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings.[21] Despite this, the Packers continued rolling, 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.[22]

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.[23] The Packers dismantled the Rams, 32–18,[24] to host the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2007 season, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31–26.

Head coaching record[]

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
GB 2019 13 3 0 1st in NFC North 1 1 Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Championship Game
GB 2020 13 3 0 1st in NFC North 1 1 Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFC Championship Game
Total 26 6 0 2 2

Personal life[]

LaFleur is married to BreAnne, whom he met in college, and they have two sons, Luke and Ty.[25] His younger brother, Mike, is the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.[26] Robert Saleh was the best man at LaFleur's wedding, as the two became close while working as graduate assistants at Central Michigan.[27]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Birthdate
  2. ↑ Packers coach Matt LaFleur was a NCAA DII football standout as a player and coach. Here are 11 of his records. (in en).
  3. ↑ Matt LaFleur becomes an Outlaw. oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central (May 18, 2004).
  4. ↑ Former AU assistant coach reportedly hired to lead NFL's Green Bay Packers (in en).
  5. ↑ Washington Redskins: Matt LaFleur.
  6. ↑ Redskins staff of Shanahan, McVay, LaFleur (in en).
  7. ↑ Hansen, Eric. LaFleur refines Notre Dame quarterbacks (in en).
  8. ↑ Alper, Josh (2015-02-05). Report: Falcons add Jeff Ulbrich, Matt LaFleur to coaching staff (in en).
  9. ↑ Super Bowl LI – New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons – February 5th, 2017. Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  10. ↑ Rams name Matt LaFleur offensive coordinator.
  11. ↑ 2017 Los Angeles Rams Statistics & Players (in en).
  12. ↑ Wyatt, Jim. Titans Name Dean Pees DC, Matt LaFleur OC.
  13. ↑ Matt LaFleur Learning on the Run in New Signal-Calling Role (in en-US).
  14. ↑ Herndon, Mike B. (2019-09-06). Did Matt LaFleur’s head coaching debut make you feel better about the Titans offense? (in en).
  15. ↑ NFL coaching carousel: Who landed where and who's still searching? (in en).
  16. ↑ Matt LaFleur named Green Bay's 15th head coach (January 8, 2019).
  17. ↑ Packers' Matt LaFleur tears Achilles playing basketball (in en).
  18. ↑ Packers, Bears kick off NFL’s 100th season with 199th matchup in prime time at Soldier Field (in en) (2019-09-03).
  19. ↑ Packers stuff Trubisky, Bears in low-scoring opener (in en).
  20. ↑ LaFleur makes Packers history with season-opening road win (in en).
  21. ↑ Dalvin Cook, penalty flags prove too much for Packers (in en-US).
  22. ↑ Packers QB Aaron Rodgers sets franchise record for TD passes in season (in en-US) (2021-01-03).
  23. ↑ Arthur, Kenneth (2021-01-12). Rams will be best pass defense Aaron Rodgers has faced since losing 2019 NFC championship (in en).
  24. ↑ Packers down Rams, 32-18, to advance to NFC title game (in en-US).
  25. ↑ Matt LaFleur Family & Children: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.
  26. ↑ Mike LaFleur – Offensive Coordinator/QBs/WRs – Davidson College.
  27. ↑ [1]

References[]

External links[]

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