While Matt LaFleur is still awaiting word on his status as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he at least knows where his former quarterback stands.
During his January 12 postgame press conference after the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ loss in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Rodgers came to the defense of both LaFleur and Mike Tomlin amid questions about each head coach’s job security for the 2026 season.
In essence, Rodgers called it an “absolute joke” that either coach is on the hot seat. And while his words may not matter to the Packers, they certainly mattered to LaFleur, who spoke candidly with The Athletic’s Michael Silver about Rodgers’ show of support.
“I’m speechless,” LaFleur said, via The Athletic. “He didn’t have to do that, but he did. [It’s] one of the nicest compliments [of] my life. I’m so appreciative of him for that.”
Aaron Rodgers Criticizes Calls to Fire Matt LaFleur
Rodgers has a knack for thoughtful and reflective comments during his postgame press conferences, particularly in his later years when, as he says, any game could be his last.
How he spoke about LaFleur — who contributed to his late-career resurgence with the Packers that saw him win two MVPs — and Tomlin on Monday night was no different.
Here are Rodgers’ full comments about LaFleur and Tomlin:
I mean, this league has changed a lot in my 21 years. You know, when you hear conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleurs of the world. Those are just two that I played for. And when I first got in the league, there wouldn’t be conversations about whether those guys were on the hot seat, but the way that the league is covered now and the way that there’s snap decisions and the validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who you make it seem like they know what the hell they’re talking about, to me that’s an absolute joke.
And for either of those two guys to be on the hot seat is really apropos of where we’re at as a society and a league. Because obviously Matt’s done a lot of great things in Green Bay and we had a lot of success. Mike T.’s had more success than damn near anybody in the league for the last 19, 20 years. And more than that, though, when you have the right guy and the culture’s right, you don’t think about making a change. But there’s a lot of pressure that comes from the outside, and obviously, that sways decisions from time to time. But that’s not how I would do things, and not how the league used to be.
Will Packers Sign Matt LaFleur to Contract Extension?
Rodgers has made it clear that he believes LaFleur should remain head coach of the Packers. Whether the team keeps LaFleur, though, could depend on his own needs.
Before the Packers’ playoff elimination, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote that the Packers “might have to offer him $12-15 million per year to lure him into signing an extension.” The implication there is that, if LaFleur does not get the desired money, there is a chance he could refuse to sign an extension and head into 2026 with one year left on his deal– a lame-duck situation the team wants to avoid.
The latest update for ESPN’s Adam Schefter also supports the notion that money could be a deciding factor in whether LaFleur remains head coach of the Packers in 2026.
“[The] Packers now are expected to try to work out a deal in the coming days to keep head coach Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, per sources,” Schefter reported on January 12.
That the Packers must “try” to keep LaFleur indicates a possibility of them moving on from him. For the time being, though, the mystery of LaFleur’s future endures.
