Deflated after Packers’ loss, Matt LaFleur dodges job talk

CHICAGO — Matt LaFleur couldn’t have been clearer: he wants to remain the coach of the Green Bay Packers.

But after blowing an 18-point lead in the NFC playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, LaFleur declined to say whether he plans to return next season for an eighth year.

“With all due respect to your question, this is not the time for that,” LaFleur said shortly after the 31-27 loss. “I’m just hurting for these guys. I can only think about what just happened, and there will be time for that.”

LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst each have one year remaining on their contracts. Freshman team president Ed Policy said before this season that he would prefer not to have a coach or general manager in a so-called lame duck year.

That increased the pressure on this season, which started with a 9-3-1 record only to see the Packers lose five straight games to end the season, although in one of those games — the regular-season finale — they rested most of their starters.

LaFleur is 76-40-1 in the regular season and has led the Packers to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, but the Packers have not reached the Super Bowl during his tenure and have not appeared in a conference championship game since the 2020 season, the second of consecutive appearances in LaFleur’s first two years.

Three times after Saturday’s loss, LaFleur was asked about his job security and each time he said it was not the time to discuss it.

However, he explained what the Packers job means to him.

“It means everything to me,” LaFleur said. “It’s the greatest organization in the world, in my opinion. It’s humbling. I’m certainly disappointed right now, especially disappointed for – well, not mostly – I’m disappointed for everyone associated with the Green Bay Packers. I’m disappointed for our locker room. I’m disappointed for our fans. I’m disappointed for our leadership, all of our employees, everyone involved with the Green Bay Packers right now.”

A playoff loss like this could have long-term implications, and several players have acknowledged the possibility.

“I’m not going to jump to conclusions or anything,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. “We’ll see what happens in the future. That’s the case at the end of every season and before the offseason, that’s always the case. We’ll see if anything comes up, if anything. So we’ll see.”

Love gave his support to the only head coach he ever had in the NFL.

“I definitely think Matt should be the head coach,” Love said. “I have a lot of love for Matt and I think he’s doing a good job. And that’s it.”

Sophomore safety Evan Williams agreed.

“He’s our leader,” Williams said. “I’ll tell you that. We have full confidence in him, in all his decisions. I can’t speak to any extension or anything in his future. I know business is business, but he’s been my only head coach and really the only one that I see moving forward. I feel like he’s done a great job putting us in a position to win and in scenarios like today, we just have to find a way to finish.”

Saturday’s loss was riddled with errors and errors. Love and the Offensive, where LaFleur is the playmaker, managed just six points after scoring touchdowns on the game’s first three drives to take a 21-3 halftime lead.

LaFleur said Love “played his ass off” but added that they “obviously weren’t doing enough with him.”

It was the second time this season the Packers blew a lead against the Bears. Their overtime loss at Soldier Field in Week 16 looked a lot like this one. This one cost the Packers the NFC North. This one cost them their season.

“We just have to do a better job of keeping our composure as a football team, going out there and doing the fundamental things that we practice all the time,” LaFleur said. “I think when you go into these kinds of big games, when you don’t execute simple fundamentals, it comes back to bite you. That’s exactly what happened.”

Their season-ending skid coincided with defensive end Micah Parsons’ season-ending knee injury. The Packers didn’t win a game after Parsons was injured and their defense suffered. The Packers have allowed just 19.0 points per game and 287.2 yards per game in their first 13 games. Those numbers have risen to 28.8 points per game and 402.6 yards per game in their last four games.

The Packers gave up 25 points in the fourth quarter, only the third time in NFL history that a team has allowed that many in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.

“When you have a team on the ropes, it’s just about finishing them,” linebacker Isaiah McDuffie said. “It’s that simple.”

Special teams, which have already cost the Packers dearly in the playoffs, cost them again when kicker Brandon McManus missed an extra point and a field goal in the fourth quarter. McManus called it “the biggest disappointment of my career. Just an embarrassing performance.”

After last year’s playoff elimination, Gutekunst said it was time for the Packers to return to championship contention, but after a second straight first-round loss, the Packers didn’t get any closer.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of work,” LaFleur said. “And we’re not where we want to be. I know we’ve faced a lot of adversity this year. Unfortunately, we haven’t done enough to overcome that adversity. It’s all of us collectively. We have to do more. We have to be better. Because that’s never an excuse. I know we lost key players, but you have to find a way to overcome that, because I think we have a lot of talent on our team. It’s just, it’s disappointing.”