Packers’ playoff meltdown against Bears should be the end of Matt LaFleur in Green Bay

Luka logs his second 50-point game this season

Story by

Story by
Packers’ playoff meltdown against Bears should be the end of Matt LaFleur in Green Bay

Ben Strauss, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, Jan 11, 2026 ·

4 min read

About Our Ads

Packers' playoff meltdown against Bears should be the end of Matt LaFleur in Green Bay appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Green Bay Packers suffered an epic meltdown during the second half of Saturday's playoff game. Green Bay allowed 25 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Chicago to complete an epic comeback and win 31-27 . It is a crushing result for the entire Packers organization, but especially head coach Matt LaFleur .

LaFleur could not hide his disappointment after the big loss.

"This is the greatest organization in the world, in my opinion, and it's very humbling," LaFleur said via NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. "I'm certainly disappointed right now. [I am] disappointed mostly for—well, not mostly. I'm disappointed for everybody that's associated with the Green Bay Packers . I'm disappointed for our locker room, disappointed for our fans, our leadership. Everyone involved with the Green Bay Packers right now."

The timing of this loss could not be worse for LaFleur in particular. LaFleur is set to meet with the Packers after the season to discuss a new contract. Saturday's loss could make that a difficult conversation.

Reporters asked Packers QB Jordan Love about the uncertainty of the upcoming following their collapse against the Bears . Love made it clear that he still supports LaFleur despite Saturday's crushing loss.

"Yeah, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions or anything, but we'll see what happens going forward. That's the case for every end of the season going into the offseason, that's always the case," Love said during his postgame remarks. "So we'll see what, if anything, comes forward…Yeah, definitely I think Matt should be the head coach, I got a lot of love for Matt. I think he does a great job. That's it."

Below we will explain why the Packers would be justified to fire LaFleur after going one-and-done in the playoffs against the Bears.

Why the Packers could fire Matt LaFleur after playoff loss to the Bears

Moving on from LaFleur would not be a trivial decision for the Packers.

LaFleur has a pretty solid record as a head coach in Green Bay. He's led the Packers to a 76-40 record in the regular season dating back to 2019.

Green Bay has made the playoffs in every season except 2022 during the LaFleur era. Unfortunately, LaFleur still only has a 3-6 record during the postseason. The Packers have never won more than one playoff game during each of their playoff runs. They also went one-and-done three times, including Saturday's loss to the Bears.

It is easy to understand why LaFleur is regarded as one of the top NFL head coaches. His teams are always competitive and often make it to the playoffs.

But it is LaFleur's inability to cobble together an extended postseason run that could be his downfall in Green Bay.

The Packers went all in on the 2025 season when they traded for Micah Parsons shortly before the regular season. Green Bay coughed up multiple first-round picks in the hopes that Parsons would be the final piece of a championship team.

Parsons' season-ending ACL injury is nobody's fault, but it does create even more uncertainty about the future for the Packers.

There aren't many more levers to pull to try and get the Packers over the hump. That could make the team's front office open to trying a new approach with a different coaching staff.

If the Packers did move on from LaFleur, they would likely have their pick of the litter for head coaching candidates. That could be appealing, especially with names like John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski on the market.

Will the Packers fire Matt LaFleur?

Now the real question becomes: will the Packers actually fire LaFleur?

Personally, I don't think the Packers will feel the urgency needed to part ways with LaFleur after Saturday's game. Part of the reason is his contract.

LaFleur is still under contract through the 2026 season. Considering where the team's at right now, I think the worst-case scenario for LaFleur is not receiving a contract extension this offseason. In that case, he would be coaching for his job during the 2026 NFL season.

If the Packers make the surprising move of firing LaFleur, I will understand. But it would still be a shocking decision.

Packers fans will be waiting with bated breath for news of LaFleur's fate over the next few days.

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: