Matt LaFleur

Matthew LaFleur (born November 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has spent time as quarterbacks coach of the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons and as offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans.

Matt LaFleur
LaFleur with the Falcons in 2016
Green Bay Packers
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1979-11-14) November 14, 1979
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Career information
High school:Mount Pleasant (MI)
College:Saginaw Valley State
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Head coaching record
Regular season:13–3 (.813)
Postseason:1–1 (.500)
Career:14–4 (.778)
Coaching stats at PFR

Playing career

Born and raised in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, LaFleur attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and played wide receiver in 1998 and 1999. He transferred to Saginaw Valley State in Division II, and he played quarterback from 2000 to 2002, guiding the Cardinals to the D-II playoffs each season.[1]

LaFleur briefly played in the National Indoor Football League with the Omaha Beef as the backup quarterback, and the following summer, signed with the Billings Outlaws in Montana.[2]

Coaching career

Early years

LaFleur's coaching career began in 2003 at his alma mater, Saginaw Valley State, as an offensive graduate assistant, during which time he also substitute taught in the local high schools, specializing in math. LaFleur proceeded to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and assisted the offensive staff in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he coached quarterbacks and receivers at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. LaFleur was the offensive coordinator at Ashland University in Ohio in 2007.[3]

Houston Texans

LaFleur then was hired in 2008 by the Houston Texans to serve as an offensive assistant. He assisted both wide receivers and quarterbacks during his two-year stint there and developed a close relationship with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Washington Redskins

When Shanahan's father Mike was hired by the Redskins, Kyle brought LaFleur to Washington to coach the quarterbacks in 2010.[4] A primary responsibility of LaFleur's for the 2012 season was to mentor rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins.[5]

Notre Dame

After six years of coaching in the NFL, LaFleur returned to college football as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Notre Dame in 2014.[6]

Atlanta Falcons

On February 5, 2015, LaFleur returned to the NFL as the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons working under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, with whom he had previously worked while with the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans. LaFleur's younger brother, Mike, was also an offensive assistant with the Falcons.[7]

In 2016, LaFleur coached Matt Ryan on his way to winning the NFL MVP. The Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots, but squandered a large lead and lost 34–28 in overtime.[8]

Los Angeles Rams

On February 8, 2017, LaFleur joined the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff as offensive coordinator, working under head coach Sean McVay, with whom he had previously worked during his tenure with the Washington Redskins.[9]

Tennessee Titans

On January 30, 2018, LaFleur left his position with the Rams to take the same position with the Tennessee Titans.[10] Joining new head coach Mike Vrabel, LaFleur had the opportunity of calling the plays for the Titans, essentially a promotion from his former position as offensive coordinator with the Rams. LaFleur and the Titans finished the season with the 25th-ranked offense in the NFL.[11]

Green Bay Packers

LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers on January 8, 2019.[12] On May 30, 2019, LaFleur suffered a torn Achilles while playing basketball.[13] LaFleur also led the Packers to a 2–2 preseason.[14]

2019 season

On September 5, 2019, LaFleur made his regular-season head coaching debut against the Chicago Bears, and led the Packers to victory by a score of 10–3.[15] He also became the first Green Bay coach to win his first game against the Bears since Vince Lombardi in 1959.[16] The Packers finished with a 13–3 record in LaFleur's first season as a head coach, and in the process, LaFleur became the first Packers rookie head coach to win 10 games, make the playoffs, and win the NFC North (as well as going 6–0 in division play in the process). In addition, the 13 wins were the most from a rookie coach since Jim Harbaugh did it with the 49ers in 2011.

LaFleur led Green Bay to their first postseason berth since the 2016 season, as he won his postseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks 28–23 in the divisional round of the playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where the Packers fell to the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers 37–20.

Head coaching record
TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
GB2019 1330.8131st in NFC North11.500Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Championship Game
Total1330.81311.500

Personal life

LaFleur is married to BreAnne LaFleur, and they have two sons, Luke and Ty.[17] His younger brother, Mike, is the passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.[18]

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References
  1. "Packers coach Matt LaFleur was a NCAA DII football standout as a player and coach. Here are 11 of his records". NCAA. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  2. "Matt LaFleur becomes an Outlaw". oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. May 18, 2004. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  3. "Former AU assistant coach reportedly hired to lead NFL's Green Bay Packers". Ashland Source. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  4. "Washington Redskins: Matt LaFleur". Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  5. "Redskins staff of Shanahan, McVay, LaFleur". SI.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  6. Hansen, Eric. "LaFleur refines Notre Dame quarterbacks". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  7. Alper, Josh (February 5, 2015). "Report: Falcons add Jeff Ulbrich, Matt LaFleur to coaching staff". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  8. "Super Bowl LI – New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons – February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  9. Patra, Kevin. "Rams name Matt LaFleur offensive coordinator". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  10. Wyatt, Jim. "Titans Name Dean Pees DC, Matt LaFleur OC". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  11. "NFL coaching carousel: Who landed where and who's still searching?". AOL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  12. "Matt LaFleur named Green Bay's 15th head coach". packers.com. January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  13. "Packers' Matt LaFleur tears Achilles playing basketball". NFL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  14. "Packers, Bears kick off NFL's 100th season with 199th matchup in prime time at Soldier Field". FOX6Now.com. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  15. "Packers stuff Trubisky, Bears in low-scoring opener". NFL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  16. "LaFleur makes Packers history with season-opening road win". www.nbc15.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  17. "Matt LaFleur Family & Children: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  18. "Mike LaFleur – Offensive Coordinator/QBs/WRs – Davidson College". davidsonwildcats.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
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