Matt LaFleur appears to be a very kind person.
When his Green Bay Packers win, he cheers as loudly as everyone else at Lambeau Field.
When things go wrong, he’s not afraid to cry a tear – or a bucket full.
There isn’t much of Mike Ditka or Bill Cowher in today’s LaFleur. In many ways, LaFleur appears to be more of a friend than a coach or a supervisor.
And that might put LaFleur on the hot seat when the 2024 campaign kicks off.
LaFleur made the controversial — and some would argue unwise — decision to re-hire his friend, Joe Barry, as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator for a third season. That relocation went as well as Clark Griswold’s Christmas lights effort.
The Packers have a first-year starter at quarterback and one of the league’s youngest sets of pass catchers. Surprisingly, the offensive hasn’t been a problem for the majority of the season.
Instead, Green Bay’s defense has failed for the umpteenth time in a row. The defense’s breakdown in the previous two weeks has pushed the Packers from seventh and last playoff slot to No. 11 in the NFC and out of the playoffs.
Many were astonished that Barry was not fired following Green Bay’s 34-20 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, when the defense was as dysfunctional as the Kardashians.
But LaFleur’s biggest blunder isn’t keeping Barry around for the final three games of 2023. No, his biggest transgression was choosing to remain married to Barry for the duration of the 2023 campaign.
That choice could potentially cost the NFL’s youngest squad crucial postseason experience. And if that happens, LaFleur may find himself in hot water come next season.
“I do believe in the people, not only in the locker room, but also in our coaching staff,” LaFleur remarked at the end of the 2022 season. “Are there a lot of things we need to work on?” Absolutely. Without a question. But it’s my desire to bring everyone back, and I believe that continuity is key to succeed in this league.”
Continuity can lead to success if the appropriate people are in place from the start.
However, LaFleur’s decision to put Barry in control of his defense seemed odd from the outset.
Barry had two other chances to manage a defense, but both times he failed: at Detroit (2007-08) and in Washington (2015-16).
In each of Barry’s seasons as the Lions’ defensive coordinator, Detroit finished dead last in yards and points. To be sure, overmatched general manager Matt Millen dealt Barry a bad hand. But Barry’s units in Detroit were so bad that they allowed 5.0 points per game more than any other club in football in 2008.
When Washington hired Barry to run its defense in 2015, he was given a second shot. Washington, on the other hand, finished 28th in yards and in the bottom half in points allowed in both of Barry’s seasons.
Barry and LaFleur became fast friends while working under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. When LaFleur decided to fire Mike Pettine following the 2020 campaign, he went to an old friend, Barry.
“I’m quite proud of my scars.” After being employed in Green Bay, Barry stated, “I really am.” “I believe that tough experiences in life harden you.
“Don’t get me wrong: I believe that success and being in a good place can teach you a lot. But I believe that true progress occurs when things are extremely difficult. I improved as a result of it. I grew.”
Perhaps.
However, the numbers do not support this.
During Mike Pettine’s final season as defensive coordinator in 2020, Green Bay ranked seventh in total yards. Under Barry, the Packers’ average ranking is 16th.
Green Bay has the most first-round defensive draft picks in NFL history, with eight. However, based on how the Packers have fared, those players were either over-drafted or inadequately coached.
And general manager Brian Gutekunst isn’t about to admit the former.
The Packers are ranked 23rd in yards allowed per game, their lowest mark since 2013, and 17th in points allowed (21.5). Green Bay is also ranked 24th in yards allowed per play and 23rd in third-down conversion rate.
“Some weeks it’s been there, some weeks it hasn’t,” Barry told me. “It’s been there at times in games, and then it’s not.” That is ultimately in the chair in which I sit, and the ultimate frustration is that it isn’t.
“Because I think the thing that any coach is always striving for, and I talk to you guys about it all the time, is consistency.” To get that level of play on a consistent basis.”
Barry’s soft zone coverages and failure to improve a rushing defense that has allowed four different teams to rack up 200-plus yards are already concerning. The gaps in communication have been especially vexing.
Green Bay’s problems versus Tampa Bay, according to LaFleur, occurred more before the snap than after. That happening at training camp is understandable. It should be a felony if it happens in late December.
“We have self-inflicted communication errors and guys quite frankly not in the right spot,” LaFleur told reporters. “It was difficult to watch, but it happened.”
“When you’re having basic communication problems and you’re supposed to be in a certain coverage or a certain rotation and we’re not getting that communication, that’s what’s so disappointing to me is the fact that it was poor communication.”
LaFleur bet on Barry’s ability to strengthen a defense that ranked 17th in both points allowed and yards allowed in 2022 and handed him a third year. That decision has blown up and may cost Green Bay a playoff spot.
And if the Packers fail to make the playoffs, LaFleur’s seat in 2024 should be one of the cozier ones in the league.
During his first three seasons in Green Bay (2019-2021), LaFleur went 39-10. However, LaFleur was only 2-3 in the postseason, going 0-2 in NFC Championship Games, and the Packers squandered the NFC’s No. 1 seed in both 2020 and 2021.
Furthermore, LaFleur’s late-game decision to kick a field goal in the 2020 NFC title game against Tampa Bay ranks as one of the worst coaching errors in franchise history. LaFleur is also 14-19 (.424) in his last 33 games.
Since a 10-year skid from 1983 to 1992, the Packers have not missed the playoffs three years in a row. That’s what LaFleur and the 2024 Packers could be looking at if things don’t change radically in the next three games.
When the season is over, LaFleur will definitely fire Barry, something that should have happened a year ago. LaFleur will then begin looking for his third defensive coordinator.
If LaFleur fails to deliver this time, he could be the next to go.
