Remember when Packers coach Matt LaFleur was undefeated for a significant time against the rival Chicago Bears? Many NFL fans on social media apparently do not.
Head coaches are always an easy target when any team has the type of colossal crash of a 31-27 playoff loss that happened to the Packers Saturday night, Jan. 10. But after a second fourth-quarter collapse at Soldier Field in less than a month ended the Packers’ season, LaFleur is fully in the crosshairs of furious fans that suffered miserably through whatever that second half was after the Packers built a 21-3 halftime lead.
LaFleur was once 12-0 against the Bears, but we live in a what-have-you-done-for-me five minutes ago world these days and knee jerk overreactions are often common place after any big game that ends in disaster.
However, LaFleur is now 3-6 in the playoffs after Saturday’s inexplicable defeat and the Packers finished the season with five straight losses after beginning the season 9-3-1.
While it can’t be ignored that the Packers’ certainly had more than their share of season-ending injuries to key players including Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft and Elgton Jenkins, the fact that the Packers lost late leads multiple times this season, including twice to the Bears, makes LaFleur’s future in Green Bay an obvious hot topic after another catastrophic fourth quarter.
In addition to being the second tine in less than a month that LaFLeur’s team lost a double-digit lead to the Bears, they also failed to close games this season against Carolina at home and Cleveland on the road.
NFL.com Reporter Ian Rapaport wrote “LaFleur’s job status will not be determined by four quarters of football tonight in Chicago,” before the game Saturday and that he and the Packers planned to discuss a contract extension after the season ended.
But that, of course, was reported before the last two quarters at Soldier Field took place, where the Packers not only couldn’t hold a 21-3 advantage, but lost an 11-point advantage with less than four minutes to play.
While new president Ed Policy shouldn’t ignore LaFleur’s 70-36-1 record, it’s also hard to overlook that his teams have won just one postseason game since 2020 and has three playoff wins in seven years.
And when you watch your archrival rally to score 25 points after the third quarter, it’s not hard to understand that a significant faction of Packers nation has seen enough and feel a change is necessary.
Here’s a small sample of the reaction:
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Matt LaFleur be fired after loss to Bears? Social media reaction
Reporting by Emmett Prosser, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
