Green Bay Packers: Matt LaFleur an early Coach of the Year favorite

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur should be in the Coach of the Year race.

Now four games into his second season as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur is proving to be one of the NFL’s elite coaches. After leading the Packers to a 13-3 record in his debut season in 2019, LaFleur has Green Bay off to a 4-0 start heading into the team’s bye week in 2020.

LaFleur joined the record books on Monday night after winning his 17th regular-season game. He joined Paul Brown for the second-best coaching record (17-3) through 20 games, per the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast. George Seifert stands alone at 18-2.

LaFleur has given the Packers a new look on offense, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been effective. The Packers have now scored 152 points through four games, good for an average of 38 points per game. That leads the NFL, with the Seahawks in second place with 35.5 points per game.

We’ve seen plenty of 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) and 12 personnel groupings (two tight ends, one running back) on offense this season, a stark change from the days of Mike McCarthy’s five-wide sets. LaFleur has utilized his tight ends to the fullest extent. The biggest beneficiary has been Robert Tonyan, who broke out on Monday night against the Falcons for six catches, 98 yards and three touchdowns.

The Packers have enjoyed star performances from a different player in each game this season. In Week 4 it was Tonyan. Allen Lazard reeled in six catches for 146 yards and a touchdown in Week 3. Next it was Aaron Jones, who had a career-best 236 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in Week 2. And Davante Adams had 14 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.

“I would say it’s a combination of everything,” LaFleur said after Monday’s win when asked about Green Bay’s biggest reason for success. “We’ve got a lot of great players. No matter who’s out there, the standards never change.”

LaFleur’s ability to focus the game plan on one particular player or defensive weakness has been outstanding. Green Bay has gone the past two games without their star receiver in Adams. The offense has leaned on LaFleur’s astute play calling and play design to help scheme open receivers and running lanes.

And we can’t forget about what LaFleur has done for Aaron Rodgers. Through four games this season, Rodgers is off to a historic pace, throwing for 1,214 yards,13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also has a 70.5 percent completion rate and a 128.4 passer rating. It’s his best start since his 2011 MVP campaign.

LaFleur has helped turned around the Packers franchise after abysmal 2017 and 2018 seasons under McCarthy. Green Bay’s offense is on track to be one of the most explosive units in NFL history, while Rodgers is back to playing at an MVP level. LaFleur deserves to be the early favorite for Coach of the Year after a quarter of the season.