The Packers moved on from long time head coach Mike McCarthy in December after frustration from fans and most importantly, Aaron Rodgers. The Packers moved fast, tabbing Matt LaFleur to be the next head coach of the iconic franchise in Green Bay. Many tabbed it as a good hire, citing how LaFleur is a great coach, and how poor offensive numbers from his stint with the Tennessee Titans shouldn’t diminish his reputation as a good coach.
However, some saw it as a disaster, saying how pairing a young coach with a QB of Rodgers’ stature would lead to a total disaster.
Ex-Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, who’s been critical of Aaron Rodgers in the past, had this to say.
“He’s coachable to a point,” Finley said regarding Rodgers. “Once you try to overcoach him, that’s when he’s going to do his own thing. With McCarthy, McCarthy used to call a play and Aaron would look at him and [then] it’s a whole different play. . . . And we just ran the play that No. 12 called. Sorry. And I think it’s going to be a lot worse with a young guy and with where Aaron’s at in his career. He’s an icon of the NFL.”
Ex-Packers defensive lineman Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, also had this to say regarding the hire and how it’ll work with Aaron Rodgers.
“When Aaron became ‘The Man,’ he was ‘The Man’, especially in his own eyes,” Gbaja-Biamila recently said, via Reischel. “Let’s just put it that way. Things just changed. I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to lie to you. It’s hard for me to say this without causing drama. . . . But I will say that between Brett [Favre] and Aaron — and I’m just being honest here so do what you want with this — with everything that Brett accomplished, you would think he’d be a little more arrogant, but he was actually more humble. And I felt that Aaron was a little bit more on the arrogant side.
“I would say from the time [Rodgers] arrived to the time he became a starter, I felt that he changed, and it wasn’t for the better.”
I for one have heard the stories of Rodgers’ lack being a team player over the years and am concerned that this could end up poorly for LaFleur. His offense last season was average at best and yes some of that had to do with him not having the right players for his system to function. But some of it came right back to LaFleur and how he called games. We’ll see how this works out and hope for the best regarding LaFleur and the Packers.