“Many teams in this league are only as good as your guy pulling the trigger, so we feel like we’re very fortunate to have one of those guys that I think the sky’s the limit for him,” LaFleur said to NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo.

Achieving good results isn’t just about talent. Often, the connection and human relationships can play a crucial role in fostering strong performance on the field.

“We trust each other quite a bit. I would say our relationship’s really strong. It’s been cool to watch his evolution, not only as a player but as a man. From the time we drafted him to where he is now, and he’s about to be a dad here really, really soon in a couple weeks. But he’s really developed into a really good leader for us.”

Love owes a Super Bowl

Despite racking up 10,929 passing yards, 80 touchdowns, and a solid 27-19-1 record over three years as the Packers’ starter, Jordan Love has yet to reach a Super Bowl. While he has consistently led Green Bay to the postseason with three playoff trips and only 28 interceptions, championship success remains the final hurdle for the star quarterback as he enters the 2026 season.

LaFleur remains a force in Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers signed Matt LaFleur to a multi-year contract extension (expected to earn approximately $15 million per year) in January 2026, securing his leadership after a 9-7-1 season. Despite the latest Wild Card exit, the organization prioritized stability for Jordan Love by locking in the coach who holds a dominant 76-40-1 career record.

After the 2025 NFL season, rumors swirled about the Packers potentially parting ways with Matt LaFleur. Surprisingly, the club went the other way and gave him a multi-year extension that will reportedly pay him around $9 million per year.

The move shocked many, including Packers fans. However, quarterback Jordan Love believes it was a smart decision, as consistency and avoiding a new system are key for him to perform at a peak level.

“Being able to keep Matt around is awesome, and I’m very happy about that,” QB Jordan Love told Kyle Malzahn of WFRV. “It’s a lot to learn a whole new system and new terminology. As a quarterback, being in the same system, the same terminology, it definitely helps me out.”

Matt LaFleur needs to prove his worth

Matt LaFleur has been the Packers’ head coach since 2019, achieving a 76-40-1 record (.654). However, postseason success has continuously eluded Green Bay.

The Packers have reached the Conference Championship twice under LaFleur’s guidance, losing in 2019 to the 49ers and a year later to the Buccaneers. This is why LaFleur is being so heavily criticized by fans and analysts.

Last year, the front office invested two first-round picks to acquire Micah Parsons, who unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury. However, with a healthy roster, expectations are sky-high for Green Bay in 2026.

Jordan Love also faces significant pressure

Not only is Matt LaFleur under the spotlight, but so is Jordan Love. The quarterback’s talents are undeniable, but he currently lacks the “clutch” factor that separates elite signal-callers from the rest of the pack.

In three years as a starter, Love has taken the Packers to the playoffs each season. Nevertheless, with that experience, fans are demanding he step up and finally become the franchise quarterback they expect him to be.

At a time when teams are looking to lock in their key players, release others, or evaluate potential moves, Matt LaFleur will have one of his top defensive assets for a few more years.

Adam Schefter revealed via X: “Just ahead of free agency, the Packers and OT Sean Rhyan reached agreement on a three-year, $33 million extension with a max value of $39 million.

“The deal contains an $11 million signing bonus, and prevents Rhyan from hitting the free-agent market. The deal was negotiated by Sam Mirza, Cameron Foster and Chris Cabott.”

Love, the biggest beneficiary

Sean Rhyan’s extension is a major win for Jordan Love’s protection, especially following Rhyan’s seamless transition to center last season. After taking over the pivot in 2025, the former UCLA standout anchored an offensive line that allowed Love to finish with a 101.2 passer rating, surrendering only one sack over his final nine starts.

By stabilizing the interior and reducing interior pressure, Rhyan’s development has directly enabled Love’s career-low 1.4% interception rate, securing a high-level pocket for the Packers‘ offense heading into 2026.

Last offseason, the Packers entered win-now mode by trading two first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons. The bold move, however, did not produce the expected results, as the star pass rusher suffered a season-ending injury in early December.

Despite that setback, Green Bay believes its championship window remains open. Even without a first-round pick this year, the organization is determined to strengthen the roster around Love, and the draft may represent its best opportunity to do so.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst hints at aggressive draft strategy

Entering an NFL Draft without a first-round pick is far from ideal. The Packers sacrificed significant draft capital for Parsons, hoping the addition would accelerate their path to contention.

After falling short of expectations in 2025, questions naturally emerged about the long-term impact of that trade. With no first-round picks in 2026 or 2027, the pressure is mounting on the front office to maximize every opportunity available.

However, lacking a first-round selection does not necessarily mean staying put. General manager Brian Gutekunst has indicated the Packers will evaluate all top prospects, hinting that moving up into the first round remains a possibility if the right prospect becomes available.

“It’s important that we don’t skip any of those steps,” GM Brian Gutekunst said on analyzing all top prospects, via Packers.com. “Getting to know these players inside and out, whether it be for this draft or going into free agency and their professional career is really, really important for us. So the groundwork that our scouts do on these players in college really does carry over quite a bit into our pro scouting staff and how we look at these players.

“It’s about winning now. If there’s players who we can sign that give us the opportunity to win now more so than holding out for a compensatory pick in 2027, that’s the decision we’re going to make. It’s a factor, but the most important thing is our ability to win in 2026.”

Packers’ key needs for the 2026 season

Green Bay has assembled a competitive roster around Jordan Love, but the 2026 offseason presents new challenges. Offensive linemen Sean Rhyan and Rasheed Walker are both set to enter free agency, making the offensive line a priority area of concern.

Protecting Love will be essential to the team’s success moving forward. For that reason, the Packers are expected to closely monitor top offensive line prospects and could consider trading up to secure a player capable of making an immediate impact.

According to an announcement on the Packers’ official website, Rich Bisaccia has stepped down as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, meaning Matt LaFleur will now need to find a replacement.

In fact, it was the head coach himself who released a statement on Tuesday regarding the situation, in which he expressed his disappointment over Bisaccia’s departure while wishing him the very best for what lies ahead.

“While we are disappointed to lose a person and coach as valuable as Rich, we respect his decision to step down from the Packers. Rich was a tremendous resource to me and our entire coaching staff who had a profound impact on our players and our culture throughout the building. We can’t thank him enough for his contributions to our team over the last four years. We wish Rich, his wife, Jeanne, and the rest of their family all the best moving forward.”

A Super Bowl champion departs

Rich Bisaccia earned his Super Bowl XXXVII ring as the Special Teams Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Under head coach Jon Gruden, Bisaccia’s disciplined units played a crucial role in the team’s dominant 2002 championship season, helping secure the franchise’s first-ever title with a victory over the Oakland Raiders.

Surrounding Love in the best possible way

To maximize Jordan Love’s potential and keep the Packers as top contenders in 2026, the front office must prioritize fortifying the offensive line and adding a true shutdown cornerback.

While Love has proven his elite leadership and vertical passing ability, reports suggest that inconsistent interior protection and a lack of defensive depth led to late-season struggles last year.

By securing his blindside and pairing their young, explosive receiving corps with a more imposing defense, Green Bay can provide Love with the structural stability needed to lead a deep Super Bowl run.

Packers defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, will be in Miami next week for a second interview. In fact, he is now the betting favorite to become the Dolphins’ next head coach. This was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Hafley is a known face for new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. He was the Packers’ VP of player personnel. Therefore, he has worked with Hafley before. It’s also been reported that is believed both Hafley and Sullivan have a very good working relationship. He was the one in charge of defense while Jordan Love tried to make things on offense.

Hafley has done merits to become a HC in the NFL

Even Matt LaFleur admitted Hafley could leave the Packers. The 46-year-old has been the defensive coordinator of the Packers the last couple of years. He has done good. In 2024, the defense was a top 10 unit in almost every key category. In this 2025, it was borderline top 10 despite having a plethora of injuries to deal with.

Hafley has experience at the collegiate level as a head coach. He had the job at Boston College for four years prior to accepting his role at the Packers. Hafley worked for Chip Kelly, LaFleur, and Kyle Shanahan, among others. He has great promise to be a top coach.

The Dolphins really need Hafley’s defensive prowess

Miami had a bottom 10 total defense, the seventh-worst rushing defense, and a bottom 10 scoring defense. Hafley needs to right the ship and one could assume plenty of personnel changes must be made on the defensive roster.

Miami has eight draft picks this year, and one must suppose many of them will be used on defensive players. However, the team can’t ignore the need to solve the issue at quarterback, as Tua Tagovailoa‘s time at the team seems to be done. It’s not an easy job to accept, but Hafley might be up for the task.

Both LaFleur and General Manager Brian Gutekunst are entering the final year of their contracts, prompting many to question whether they will actually return to the team given what’s ahead.

According to NFL reporter Adam Schefter on his X account, both are hoping for a positive meeting with the franchise, and it’s expected that they could extend their contracts with the Packers for a few more years.

Evidently, the main goal is to continue on this path, aiming for Love and his teammates to achieve results in the short term and eventually return to the Super Bowl.

Building a competitive team

The Green Bay Packers are fully committed to building a powerhouse around Jordan Love for a 2026 title run, headlined by their latest blockbuster acquisition of Micah Parsons.

To secure the elite pass rusher, Green Bay traded its 2026 and 2027 first-round picks along with Kenny Clark to the Cowboys, a high-stakes move intended to transform its defense into a championship-caliber unit once Parsons returns from his late-2025 ACL injury.

Offensively, the team is banking on the explosive trio of Josh Jacobs, Christian Watson, and rising star Matthew Golden to provide Love with the weapons needed to lead a high-octane attack.

By pairing a generational defensive talent with a versatile group of playmakers, the Packers have signaled to the rest of the league that they are officially in “win-now” mode for the 2026 season.

Clayton Tune had the privilege of taking the field at US Bank Stadium last weekend as the Packers’ starting QB. However, his stint in Wisconsin came to an end, as he was released by the franchise ahead of the postseason.

The news was announced on the NFL’s daily transactions report on Tuesday, which also revealed that the Packers have signed QB Desmond Ridder to their active roster from the practice squad, as well as adding WR Julian Hicks, WR Kisean Johnson, and TE Messiah Swinson to their practice squad.

The brief Packers journey of Clayton Tune

Given the chance to play with Love and Malik Willis injured, quarterback Clayton Tune struggled to find his rhythm, posting a combined 42 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception over the final two games of the regular season.

After coming off the bench in a relief role against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17, Tune was named the starter for the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. However, he found little success against the Vikings’ aggressive defense, completing 6 of 11 passes for just 34 yards and finishing with a dismal 7.9 QBR.

Looking ahead to the Bears

With Love returning and Ridder also on the active roster, the Green Bay Packers are preparing to face the Chicago Bears in a high-stakes showdown in the NFC Wild Card Round on Saturday, January 10, 2026. The game will be played at Soldier Field in Chicago, with kickoff scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET (7:15 p.m. CT).

Jordan Love has been dealing with concussions lately and while he cleared the NFL protocol, the Packers will save him for the NFL Playoffs. Love hasn’t played since Week 16.

As for Malik Willis, he is dealing with both a hamstring and a shoulder injury and the Packers would rather save him for the playoffs (in case something happens with Love). In the end, this game doesn’t mean anything for the Packers, as they are locked in the seventh seed regardless of the result. Hence, no need to risk him.

How has Clayton Tune fared in the NFL?

Tune will play against the Vikings, which will be his first start in over two years. He played the last portion of last week’s game against Baltimore. His only start in the NFL was for the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, where he completed 11/20 passes for 58 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in a shutout loss to the Browns.

His debut game with the Packers was not great. He completed one of four passes and threw an interception. He was also sacked in the game. Tune, who is a Houston product, was a fifth round pick by the Cardinals in 2023.

Tune might know who his best weapon is

The quarterback used to have a first round pick playing with him back in his Houston days. Packers rookie Matthew Golden was one of Tune’s finest weapons in college. Hence, it wouldn’t be crazy to think that Tune will try to rekindle that chemistry with his former college teammate in an NFL game.

Tune’s last season at Houston was Golden’s first year in the program. Golden had 584 yards for seven touchdowns that season. He shared plenty of snaps with Houston Texan Tank Dell, who was an absolute star. Therefore, Golden wasn’t precisely the WR1 on that team but he still saw plenty of targets.

While Jordan Love already cleared concussion protocol, the team announced he will not play until the Wild Card Round. Hence, the next man up is Malik Willis, who has played exceptionally well every time he has been on the field for the Packers. Willis is dealing with shoulder and hamstring issues.

The Packers have tagged Willis as questionable for Week 18. Still, there’s also a possibility he is used as the emergency third quarterback behind both Clayton Tune and Desmond Ridder. Willis could also be saved for the playoffs if needed.

Willis and Love are both effective, but very different

Jordan Love is a pocket passer, but with the ability to scramble. He has a lot of arm strength and can fit tight windows. Love can also be a bit reckless at times and put the ball in harms way, but he has big upside. He is like if his predecesors, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, had a son. That is Jordan Love’s style.

As for Willis, he is more of a dual-threat weapon. Willis doesn’t have the arm talent Jordan Love has, but he is still an effective short-to-medium passer and has the ability to run whether it’s on scrambles or on designed runs. Willis has explosive speed. The Packers would rather have Love, but they know they can do damage with Willis too.

The Packers’ possible playoff rivals are tough

Green Bay has only two options as possible rivals. As of right now, it’s the Chicago Bears, but it could also be the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia beat the Packers back in Week 10 in a very low-scoring game.

As for the Bears, the Packers have faced them twice since they are divisional rivals. They won the first game against the Bears in Week 14 in the last game with an end zone pick. Then, the Bears took revenge in Week 16 with an overtime win. Hence, these are huge games regardless of who the Packers face in the Wild Card Round.

According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, LaFleur was adamant on not starting a QB debate. “I wanna pump the brakes on all that stuff,” LaFleur said. He also added he wanted to “squash” any rumor or idea of Willis being better than Love for the team.

Willis’ efforts weren’t enough to beat the Ravens in Week 17 as the defense allowed 41 points. When the defense allows 307 rushing yards, it’s just too complicated for the offense to get into rhythm.

Willis also played injured

Willis has been dealing with a couple of injuries but still suited up to play. He completed 18/21 passes for 288 yards one touchdown, nine carries, 60 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and a 134.6 passer rating. He was absolutely incredible vs. the Ravens.

The fact of the matter is Willis hasn’t looked anywhere below Jordan Love, despite their obvious differences in playing style. Willis is much more faster and mobile, while Love is much more accurate, has a bigger arm and more potential explosive plays. The Packers have shown they can provide a good offensive output with both of them.

The Packers are in trouble once the playoffs roll around

To be fair, it seems like this team could be a one-and-done in this NFL Playoffs. The offense can put up points but the reality is that since Micah Parsons went down, the defense is just not the same.

They allowed 34 points to the Broncos, 22 to the Bears and now 41 to the Ravens. That kind of defense won’t allow any team to go all the way on a deep playoff run. It seems like the Packers are on borrowed time.