It should be noted that my wife had to talk me down off the roof—where I was threatening to jump—so that I could write this manifesto instead.

Before I go there, I want to congratulate the Chicago Bears and their boorish fans. You wanted to advance in the playoffs more than my Green Bay Packers did. You also have, in my opinion, the Coach of the Year in Ben Johnson. With him, the Bears are going to be a thorn in Green Bay’s side for the foreseeable future.

Mentioning Coach of the Year brings me neatly to the real subject of this commentary: Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers organization.

As a self-proclaimed assistant coach of the Packers who has watched every snap, every fourth-quarter collapse, and every head-scratching decision, I have some observations.

I’ll get straight to the point.

Ed Policy, President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers: please thank Matt LaFleur for his tenure in Green Bay and show him the door. And on his way over the threshold, feel free to give him a kick in the backside.

Yes, LaFleur owns a 76-39-1 record, one of the best winning percentages among active head coaches. Yes, he’s led the team to division titles and nine playoff appearances. But context matters. A significant portion of those wins came with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time: Aaron Rodgers.

And those nine playoff appearances? Three wins. Those are Chicago Bears numbers. not Green Bay Packer numbers.

The 2025 Packers were widely regarded as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Instead, through a series of lackluster performances and bafflingly conservative game plans – playing not to lose rather than to win, and a spate of injuries, the Packers limped to a 9-7-1 finish.

Let’s review the carnage.

We lost to the 5-12 Cleveland Browns. We lost to the 8-9 Carolina Panthers—at home. We scored 40 points against the Dallas Cowboys and somehow walked away with a tie. We lost the final five games of the season.
Worse, we lost twice to the Chicago Bears, both times after blowing fourth-quarter leads in what can only be described as folly.

Beyond the conservative play-calling, LaFleur must answer for the company he keeps.

In 2022, he hired Rich Bisaccia as Special Teams Coordinator, making him the highest-paid special teams coach in the league. Since then, special teams have been a recurring disaster: blocked kicks, coverage breakdowns, botched returns, and momentum-killing mistakes at the worst possible moments.

Then there’s kicker Brandon McManus, brought in to stabilize extra points and field goals. Instead, he’s been marginal at best, culminating in becoming the first kicker since 2007 to miss two fourth-quarter kicks in a playoff game. Both McManus and Bisaccia need to go.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley spent much of the year mentioned as a head-coaching candidate elsewhere. Based on how this defense collapsed down the stretch—especially in the final five games—I question why anyone is lining up to hire him now.

Anyone who’s watched football for more than five minutes knows the Bears’ specialty: do nothing for three quarters, then pull a miracle out of thin air. And yet, time and again, the Packers defense was completely gassed by the fourth quarter.

Yes, injuries played a role. Losing tight end Tucker Kraft hurt the offense, and the receiver room battled nagging injuries all year. But injuries are part of professional football. That’s why teams preach “next man up.”

Apparently, that mantra doesn’t apply in Green Bay anymore.

LaFleur and his boss, General Manager Brian Gutekunst, are each under contract through the 2026 season. However, Policy has indicated he would prefer to avoid a lame-duck situation with them, meaning extensions or walking papers are likely in the coming months.

I see no reason to fire Gutekunst. He has given LaFleur ample talent through trades, drafts, and free-agent acquisitions. Through Gutekunst, the Packers have assembled a roster that is absolutely Super Bowl caliber. The problem is not the personnel — it’s how that personnel has been managed.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, LaFleur’s asking price is somewhere in the range of $12–15 million per year with a long-term extension. That’s elite-coach money. We don’t have that.

Don’t misunderstand me — Matt LaFleur is a good coach. But he appears to have hit a ceiling when it comes to taking this team to the next level. The Packers don’t lack talent. They lack killer instinct, late-game discipline, and the ability to close.

If LaFleur is looking for a fresh start, the Miami Dolphins, who just hired former Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan as General Manager, he might be able like to start afresh with them. I genuinely hope LaFleur lands there. Sometimes a change benefits everyone.

So let’s do something bold — interview John Harbaugh and see if both he and the Packers can get back to where they belong: the Super Bowl.