How can LaFleur better communicate with players?

Michael Holley and Mike Florio react to Matt LaFleur's comments at the annual NFL league meeting and break down how the Green Bay Packers head coach can better communicate with players next season.

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The Green Bay Packers.

Let's talk about them right now.

We had that visit with Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan, and we didn't really delve into a lot of the specifics as it relates to either team because we're just having a more open conversation.

But the Packers underachieved in twenty twenty-five.

They started off great.

Rasheed Walker, after they beat the Commanders on Thursday night, the first true Thursday night game of the year to move to two and oh, Rasheed Walker said we could go undefeated.

Didn't quite go that way for the Packers.

They still made it to the playoffs.

They lost to the Bears in the wild card round.

Here's Matt LaFleur from earlier this week on how things went not the way he would have liked in twenty twenty-five.

I think if I'm being honest about it, I think there were some guys that were upset about roles last year, and I think that, that took a toll on our football team.

So you need guys that bring great energy every day.

I think from a coaching standpoint, role clarity is key.

So we gotta obviously do a better job communicating with our players, "Hey, where's your role?

And if you're unhappy about your role, it's on you to do something about that to, to carve out a bigger role on this football team."

But, yeah, we- w- the buying is absolutely critical.

Getting guys in there that are juiced, that are ready to go to work each and every day is gonna be critical for us.

Do we know who he was talking about?

There was some Jaden Reed consternation in the off-season last year.

I don't know if it's him.

Like, do we know who he's talking about?

Have we seen that anywhere?

Isn't that the number one question, Mike?

When, when, when he says that, your, your first thought is, "Okay, who's he referring to?"

Is he referring to, you know, you've mentioned Jaden Reed.

Is he referring to Romeo Doubs, who left?

Is he referring to some of their free agents?

Because, you, you first go to free agency thinking, "Hey, there are guys who, who didn't buy into their roles," and you think, "Well, they didn't buy into their roles, they're gone."

But that's not necessarily true.

There may be guys who didn't buy into their roles last year, and they're coming back this year.

So what-- one, who are those guys, and two, what are you gonna do about it?

You, as, as a head coach, if you see that they're not really buying in, and they're under contract, and you can't just move on from everybody who doesn't like what they're doing, then now what do you do to make sure even if they don't like it, they're doing what you're, what you're asking them to do?

So it's a really interesting comment from LaFleur and probably deserve, you know, three or four follow-up questions.

He wouldn't have-- probably wouldn't have answered, but still worth asking the questions.

He also had his grade on the NFL PA report cards fall from A-minus to B-minus from twenty twenty-four to twenty twenty-five.

Obviously, they, they weren't allowed to publicize the grades this year, but they leaked them anyway, which they absolutely should have done.

LaFleur said that, that he-- and he is taking to heart the criticism.

Some guys thought that LaFleur didn't treat them with enough respect.

LaFleur said, "I don't feel that way, but unfortunately some guys did.

That tells me I've got to do a better job communicating.

Goes back to the relationship piece.

I think it's so critical.

We always talk about connected teams being powerful teams.

We have to grow that connection."

Certainly, that's been a topic of conversation with on our building of how do we get these guys closer, more-- because the more they know each other, I think the more they're gonna go to battle for one another.

And look, this puts in context the decision that Ed Policy had to make after the season.

Now, Ed Policy, at some point this week, he's the president and CEO of the Packers, got the job last summer.

Ed Policy acted surprised that there was even a question that he may move on from Matt LaFleur.

Well, Ed, you're the one that kind of let the situation dangle.

All you had to do, as the questions were mounting near the end of the season, was come out and say, "We're gonna do an extension.

He's fine."

Or you could have just signed him to the extension before the season ended, letting everyone know he was fine.

But there was a period of time after the season where we were wondering, what's gonna happen with Matt LaFleur?

And they're, "Oh, well, they in- the- they intend to try to work out a deal."

Well, that doesn't tell us anything.

They could lowball him.

They may make him an offer he will refuse, and that they know he will refuse, and it's just an impasse.

Sorry, we just couldn't work it out, and we're gonna fire him.

We don't want to have a lame duck coach, so we can't get a long-term deal done, so we're just gonna go our separate ways.

That was possible.

So when you see things like this, you wonder if it was an issue.

You wonder how safe he really was.

And, you know, now he is because he's gotten the long-term deal.

He's gotten the extension.

But it sounds like he's been told there's some things that, that if you want to be here over the long, long, long term, we need you to do differently.

First, I wanna applaud him.

I wanna applaud him for acknowledging the report card, acknowledging the grade, and saying, "I need to do some things about it."

He didn't have to say that, and I think that is a model.

That's, that's how you model the behavior, NFL owners.

Not run and hide, not try to bury it and get people to talk about something else, but to acknowledge some of the things that are brought up on the report card.

So I'm glad that he did that, one.

But then, you know, a- as I listen to him, I think of how difficult it is to, to satisfy all, all the things that people want their head coaches to be.

So I think from a fan standpoint, fans want coaches who are decisive, coaches who don't let, players, you know, get away with mistakes and, you know, hold these guys accountable and just kinda-Hey, you know, you're not necessarily friendly with these guys.

You gotta get them to perform at the highest level, and if you hurt some feelings, if you bench a guy, so be it.

Okay, that's what fans And I think sometimes ownership is that way, too.

But players don't look at it that way.

I Okay, put it this way, Mike.

You're a, you're a boss.

Like, how many people are, how many people are, are you over, i- in your, on your PFT staff?

How many, how many people are you in charge of?

I mean, four, but I don't view it that way because they don't technically work for me.

Now, if I didn't want them working on PFT, they would work for NBC somewhere else.

So technically four, but not really.

Okay.

But still- Technically no one I'd say even with f- Well, five, and my son.

But, but he works- My son works for me.

My son, my son works for me, and he better watch out 'cause I will fire his ass.

See?

Even But with fi- Okay, just think about it.

With five people, five, it's just five people, there are certain jokes you can make with one person that you wouldn't joke that way with another person.

You, One way, if you have a sensitive conversation, sensitive topic you wanna have, there's, that's one type of conversation with her, another conversation with him.

As an NFL coach, it's amazing.

You think you're communicating well, and you may be communicating well with half of the room, with half of the team.

Let's say 27 guys love the way you communicate, and 26 don't.

I mean, you get Now, you know what that is?

That's probably like a C+ or a B- for your grade.

So it takes a lot.

It takes a lot of investment, and it takes a lot of work to be one of these pl- especially these players coaches who understand every who have something to say to everybody on the roster.

That And w- when I, when I think of that guy, I think of, say, a Dan Quinn.

Think of Mike Vrabel.

You know, these guys who not only know who the, who the players are, and I think all the coaches know the players.

I know the player.

I know the player's girlfriend.

I know the player's, spouse.

I know their kids.

I remember stories they told me from three weeks ago.

I'll follow up this week about something you told me a month, a month and a half ago.

I mean, I think it takes a lot to communicate with young men and for them to un- for them to think that you understand them, and then for you to feel like, "Yeah, I'm communicating, but they're still doing what I need them to do," which is, which is perform, so we all have jobs, two weeks from now, two years from now.

And it's fundamentally about valuing the relationship, knowing what it takes to get the most out of whoever it is, and also inspiring them to want to emulate you.

I think that's the key for any coach.

It's not just personality mirroring in your individual communications, and I'm gonna act like this guy, I'm gonna talk like this guy, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give him exactly what I think he needs in order for him to choose to go out there and do everything I want.

There's still part of the coach's personality that has to come through in those interactions that inspires the player to do what the coach does, and I think that's where the relationships within the team become critical because you want your team leader, you want your quarterback, to inspire the rest of the team to do what he does, and that's, that's one of the challenges.

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