It's been a brutal two weeks for the Green Bay Packers' offense. Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love, and everyone associated with this unit deserve scrutiny.
Endless thinkpieces on how LaFleur is coaching for his job and Love isn't the guy, just two weeks removed from Love completing 20 consecutive passes on Sunday Night Football and the offense putting up 35 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But that's how it goes. This is a reactionary, What have you done for me lately? league. If you go into a slump, the fans and media will come for your job, even if you were just the No. 1-overall seed and in MVP conversations just two weeks ago.
Let's take a breath. Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love are still the future. They've built up enough equity and produced enough high-level football to garner that security for now.
LaFleur has been widely thought of as one of the best five to 10 head coaches in the league since 2020. Plus, if LaFleur and Love were on the market, there would be a bidding war among several teams to make LaFleur their head coach and Love their starting quarterback.
Still, the Packers shouldn't make any decisions on keeping people in the building based on the interest the league's worst teams would have in them. In Green Bay, it's about Super Bowls, not stability, and the Packers are not performing anywhere close to Super Bowl caliber despite expectations of being serious contenders.
LaFleur deserves a lot of criticism. I don't understand much of the offensive philosophy, and his insistence on playing an injured kicker is mind-numbing. He's had questionable situational play-calling and inconsistent aggressiveness. They often play down to inferior opponents, and there's just an overall lack of preparedness and focus every game. Those are all valid criticisms, and they go beyond just this season. His seat is hotter than ever.
However, we know LaFleur is a great coach. We've also seen that side of him. At his best, he's in consideration as the best coach in the league, and the struggles of this team go far beyond the head coach and quarterback. The offensive line has been a mess, the pass catchers are in shambles, and special teams ... sigh.
The real issue is who's around Lafleur on the coaching staff. Hafley and his crew are doing their part, but none of the offensive coaches seem to be elevating their play in the room or on special teams -- again, sigh.
The Packers have invested countless picks on wide receivers and offensive linemen, yet both feel underdeveloped and underutilized. The staff is largely composed of in-house elevations who all seem underqualified for their roles based on the development and quality of play, despite the talent.
Retreads such as Luke Getsy and Nathaniel Hackett have failed elsewhere and returned to Green Bay. It has become an echo chamber of stale voices that has reached its capped ceiling. There's a reason Lafleur isn't considering (and shouldn't consider) giving up play-calling duties.
If things continue as they are trending, the Packers must make changes, just not at the very top.
Green Bay could learn a lesson from the Philadelphia Eagles, whom they lost to on Monday night.
Many people want to compare this Packers situation to the Eagles and Andy Reid. Everyone knew Reid was an awesome offensive mind, but things had just run their course, and both sides needed a fresh start. However, I see it as much more similar to the 2023 Eagles.
Following a disappointing 2023 season, just a year removed from a Super Bowl appearance, Nick Sirianni and the Eagles front office completely reworked the offensive and defensive coaching staffs after things grew stale and the team collapsed after a 10-1 start. Eagles fans were ready to celebrate in the streets if Sirianni got fired.
However, they knew they had a good coach who had them playing for a Lombardi Trophy just 12 months prior. So, instead, they fired offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, an in-house elevation who was clearly under-qualified for the job. They also moved on from defensive coordinator Sean Desai, clearly the wrong hire - they demoted him mid-season.
In their place, they brought in an all-star coaching staff around Sirianni, hiring current New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore and former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio. The Eagles won the Super Bowl the following season.
A Packers version of this would look a little different. They are more invested in their coaches because they have been with the team for years. LaFleur also tends to hire and stick with the wrong coaches for far too long. We've seen it with Joe Barry and former special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton, and it seems to be happening again.
Special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia is the clear wrong hire in this situation. Green Bay's special teams are in the bottom fourth of the league again this year, ranking 25th.
The kicking situation is infuriating. The Packers have lost all three games by three points and have missed a field goal in each. They have a different punt returner out there every game, and it feels like a miracle if they get through a special teams play without a penalty. Bisaccia should've been gone after last season when they finished 32nd in PFF's special teams rankings. Instead, they gave him an extension.
Underqualified coaches make up almost the entire offensive staff. I loved Adam Stenavich as an offensive line coach, but the Packers promoted him to offensive coordinator to keep other teams from hiring him away as OC. However, he's not a play-calling OC and keeps getting passed over when interviewing for another promotion to be such. He still works heavily with the offensive line, and the offensive line isn't playing to the level anymore to justify not having a more creative mind in that role.
LaFleur should consider hiring a new voice in that role, such as Brian Daboll or Mike McDaniel. By bringing in a former head coach as offensive coordinator, he may be more willing to give up play-calling duties. He could also get a little more creative, like he did with Hafley, and find a young, creative mind from the outside that no one is considering, who could rejuvenate a stale offense. It's time for him to hear a new voice ... or two, or three.
The last part of this is the defense. Hafley isn't going anywhere unless someone hires him. If he is, I beg Lafleur and Brian Gutekunst to do a full defensive coordinator search and consider hiring from outside the team rather than promoting from within. If it turns out that someone like Demarcus Covington is the best candidate, then go with him. I just don't want to see a fugazi interview process that checks required boxes just so they can promote from within without a real search.
There's still a lot of season left. This team is talented. Matt LaFleur is a good coach, and the offense should be producing far more points than it has. I expect them to get out of this slump. Still, regardless of how the rest of the season goes, unless this takes a complete 180 and they go on a deep playoff run, it's time for new voices in Matt LaFleur's ear.