With first place in the NFC North on the line, on a short week, and a lot of offensive miscues to clean up from the last performance, it’s a near certainty Head Coach Matt LaFleur hasn’t given this particular milestone even a cursory thought.
But here goes anyway.
LaFleur is one win from his 50th regular-season victory heading into Thursday night’s clash with the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field, and if he can get it, a measure of team and league history would come along with it.
Team-wise, LaFleur is on the verge of becoming the second-fastest Packers head coach to reach 50 wins, behind only Vince Lombardi. Thursday is LaFleur’s 70th regular-season game at the helm of the Packers, and his current record stands at 49-20.
Six previous Packers head coaches have won 50 games, and Lombardi got there the fastest, in just 66 contests. Here’s the full list:
Again, LaFleur has 49 wins in 69 games, so his chances of ranking second in Packers’ annals look pretty good, even if win No. 50 doesn’t happen right away.
If he can get No. 50 Thursday night, though, there’s a larger historical significance in relation to all NFL coaches. Only six previous head coaches, including Lombardi, reached 50 regular-season wins in 70 or fewer games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. LaFleur has a chance to become just the seventh in the 100-plus year history of the league.
LaFleur’s early success in the NFL is amazing, regardless of when win number fifty arrives. For the first four years, he did have a quarterback that would go down in history in Aaron Rodgers, but there was more to it than that.
First of all, he has experience managing injuries, which the 2023 Packers are currently facing, rather skillfully, preventing the club from losing momentum. Furthermore, he turned things around with a four-game winning streak and a chance at a playoff spot in the regular-season finale when the Packers were losing five straight and seven of eight games during the first serious difficulty of his tenure last season.
Find out what the players think is greatest about LaFleur and what they think has contributed to his success in the
Leave a Reply