Matt LaFleur’s final Packers memory won’t be a dismissive handshake from Ben Johnson.
ESPN.com reported the Packers are working on a new deal for LaFleur after a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations ended Saturday night with a crushing 31-27 road loss the rival Bears in the wild-card round.
LaFleur, 46, has kept the Packers as consistent contenders but only has one playoff win in his past five seasons, leading to speculation the team and coach could part ways.
LaFleur has one year left on his current contract and team president Ed Policy previously said he prefers not to have key personnel in a lame-duck status.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is also heading into the final year of his contract.
LaFleur was expected to meet with Policy on Sunday or Monday.
“That’s not the focus right now, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said when asked about his future Saturday night. “We’re fresh off this loss. My sole focus is on our players, our team and just trying to find ways to get better.”
He will now stay out of a crowded coaching carousel that currently has eight head coach openings.
LaFleur’s Packers tenure has featured plenty of highs during the regular season, notching a 76-40-1 record, but the team routinely came up small in the postseason.
Saturday’s loss dropped the team to 3-6 in the playoffs under his watch.
The former Titans offensive coordinator posted three straight 13-win seasons to open his career and advanced to two straight NFC Championship games.
Green Bay fell on the road to the 49ers during the 2019 season and losing at home to the Buccaneers in the 2020 campaign in perhaps his best shot to reach the Super Bowl.
The 2021 team then lost at home in the snow to the 49ers in an upset.
While he successfully managed to keep the team competitive during the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, the Packers’ season have had similar endings.
The 2023 Packers squandered a seven-point lead an eventual road loss to the 49ers as a No. 7 seed, and last year’s team — again as a No. 7 seed — scored just 10 points in a loss to the Eagles.
This year’s squad again finished with the seventh-best record in the NFC largely due to another late-game choke against the Bears in Week 16.
Losing star pass rusher Micah Parsons with an ACL tear in Week 15 also hurt the team’s defense.
Saturday night’s loss to the hated Bears left LaFleur to 1-5 in his last six playoffs games.
The future of defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is also in question as he is expected to be a popular name in head coaching searches; the New Jersey native has been linked to the Giants’ opening
Johnson and LaFleur have had a frosty relationship in Johnson’s first year as Chicago’s head coach.
Johnson, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Lions, only offered a quick handshake to LaFleur while running across the field on Saturday night and then crowed, “F–k the Packers,” in a victorious locker room.
Now, LaFleur will have a chance for revenge as he looks likely to stay in Green Bay.
