The shifting landscape of the NFL coaching market may have just added a new wrinkle to the Green Bay Packers‘ contract negotiations with Matt LaFleur.
The Packers will have their season on the line when they face off against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in the wild-card round of the 2025 NFL playoffs on January 10, but decisions about the future of two of their franchise’s most significant figures — LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst — await them in the 2026 offseason.
LaFleur and Gutekunst are each under contract for 2026, but new team president/CEO Ed Policy has indicated he would prefer to avoid a lame-duck situation with either one, meaning he will likely hand them extensions or walking papers in the coming months.
According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the negotiation with LaFleur is also “more complicated” in the sense that his asking price is a major factor. He indicated that the Packers may need to offer him in the range of $12-15 million to persuade him to sign a long-term contract extension to remain head coach past 2026.
And if the Packers cannot seal the deal, the Miami Dolphins — who just hired former Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM — could give LaFleur an alternate option.
“LaFleur’s deal is more complicated because the money is considerable,” Silverstein wrote Friday. “The Packers might have to offer him $12-15 million per year to lure him into signing an extension. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement, it’s hard to believe Sullivan wouldn’t be interested in LaFleur if he’s Miami’s next general manager.
“In order for Sullivan to get a crack at him, the Packers would have to fire LaFleur, agree to void the final year of the contract or ask for compensation from the Dolphins.”
Money a Big Factor in Matt LaFleur Negotiation
LaFleur signed his original contract to become the Packers’ head coach in 2019 and re-upped with the team on a more lucrative extension in 2022 after winning the division in each of his first three seasons and running as far as the NFC title game in two of them.
Since then, LaFleur has made the postseason in three of four seasons and moved into fourth place on the list of winningest head coaches in franchise history with 76 wins, giving the Packers all the motivation in the world to want to keep him in the picture.
Silverstein, however, is not the only insider who has said that money — or fair price, rather — is the major factor hanging over LaFleur’s future as the Packers’ head coach.
“I think the bigger deal here is can they figure out a contract of fair value to keep him there,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter told The Pat McAfee Show on January 5. “If they get the deal done, it’s a non-talking point and his future is secure there. If they can’t figure out a contract that works for both sides, well, then you have to ask yourself, are they willing to let him go into the last year of his deal, which he would be, or what do you do about that? Very rarely do teams want coaches going into the last year of their deal, which I think the priority will be to sign him to a long-term extension this offseason.”
Will Playoff Results Affect Matt LaFleur’s Job?
Schefter and Silverstein indicated that the price point is the larger issue when it comes to the Packers trying to retain LaFleur, but could their playoff results also affect things?
The Packers are back in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons under LaFleur, but they have struggled to find success in the years since they reached back-to-back NFC title games in 2019 and 2020, winning just one of their last four playoff games. If 2025 also ends swiftly, and at the hands of the Bears no less, then it is reasonable to think it could prompt one or both sides to re-evaluate their long-term future together.
If the Packers feel that things have grown stagnant under LaFleur, they could attempt to wipe the slate clean and give Gutekunst a second opportunity to hire a new coach. There is at least one name — John Harbaugh — available with a winning reputation.
LaFleur may also have his reasons for wanting a fresh start, especially if any strife has developed between him and the front office over his contract price or the new boss.
At this point, it seems unlikely that the Packers will part ways with LaFleur for 2026, but let’s wait to make those evaluations until after Saturday night’s big showdown.
Packers Get Bad News on Matt LaFleur’s Future Before Bears Playoff Game