Ed Policy’s Decision To Extend Packers Coach Matt LaFleur Is A Head Scratcher

Ed Policy has been the Green Bay Packers team president for six months and five days.

In that time, he’s talked to Packer Nation — the people who are technically his bosses — exactly once.

That came at the Packers’ shareholders meeting on July 25, when the torch of team president was officially passed from Mark Murphy to Policy.

In the time since, it’s been crickets from Policy.

If and when Policy comes out of hiding, he has a lot of questions to answer.

Policy made his first major move as Green Bay’s new president Saturday by giving coach Matt LaFleur a multi-year extension. According to multiple reports, the deal is expected to be in the $15 million per year range, although the length of the extension is unclear.

LaFleur had one year left on his contract and Policy previously said he didn’t want a lame-duck coach in 2026. Of course, many in Packer Nation are wondering why he still wanted LaFleur at all?

After a hot start as Green Bay’s coach in which LaFleur went 39-10 and reached two NFC Championship games (both losses), his last four seasons have gone like this:

• Missed the playoffs.

• No. 7 seed

• No. 7 seed

• No. 7 seed

What was once Titletown has quickly become Mediocre-land.

LaFleur is 1-5 in his last six playoff games and 3-6 in the playoffs overall. Two of those losses (2020 and 2021) came at home when the Packers were the NFC’s No. 1 seed and substantial favorites.

Eight coaches in Packers history have taken their teams to the playoffs. Of those, LaFleur’s .333 postseason winning percentage ranks a dismal seventh.

LaFleur is also coming off the most disappointing season of his Green Bay tenure.

The Packers had the fourth-best odds to win the Super Bowl after trading for Micah Parsons in August. Instead, Green Bay finished the year on a five-game losing streak, its longest since 2008, when Aaron Rodgers was in his first year as the starting quarterback.

The Packers blew double digit leads in the final three minutes of losses to Cleveland and Chicago during the regular season. Green Bay also blew a nine-point, third quarter lead in a loss to Denver and a 13-point lead against Dallas in a game that ended in a tie.

The crown jewel, though, came when the Packers somehow wasted a 21-3 halftime lead to arch-rival Chicago in the NFC Wild Card Game and eventually lost the game, 31-27.

That was the Bears’ largest playoff comeback in the 107-year history of the franchise. Chicago also became just the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game when trailing by at least 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

The last time that happened came in Super Bowl 52 when New England rallied from a 28-9 fourth quarter deficit and eventually beat Atlanta, 34-28, in overtime. Interestingly, LaFleur was the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach at the time.

On the heels of the Packers’ epic playoff collapse — and complete fold job to finish the 2025 campaign — Policy chose to give LaFleur a contract extension.

The reaction from Packer Nation was akin to trying to set off fireworks after the fuse had been rained on. It was a gigantic dud — and now the paying customers are hoping Policy has some answers.

LaFleur has been a capable regular season coach, posting an impressive 76-40-1 record (.654). Until proven otherwise, though, LaFleur is the second coming of Marty Schottenheimer, a man who had terrific regular season success in four NFL cities, but went a dismal 5-13 in the playoffs (.278) and never reached a Super Bowl.

The defining moment of LaFleur’s career came in the 2020 NFC Championship Game when the Packers trailed Tampa Bay, 31-23, with 2:09 left and had a fourth-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ 8-yard line. Instead of trying to tie the game with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, LaFleur had Mason Crosby kick a 26-yard field goal that pulled the Packers within five.

With Tom Brady on the other side, the move was as stunning as it was incorrect. Predictably, Brady made sure the Packers never got the ball back and Tampa Bay prevailed, 31-26.

Two weeks later, the Buccaneers routed Kansas City in the Super Bowl. And amazingly, LaFleur stands by his decision to kick a field to this day.

“I remember walking off the field, looking at the clock going, what the …” Rodgers said in the Netflix documentary ‘Enigma.’ “What are we doing? Kicking a field goal? For what? We still gotta get a touchdown.”

Things haven’t gotten any better for the Packers in the playoffs since that dreadful day.

Green Bay lost a 10-3 lead against San Francisco in the final 5 minutes and fell, 13-10, in the 2021 NFC Divisional playoffs.

The Packers led the 49ers, 21-14 heading to the fourth quarter in the 2023 divisional playoffs and were outscored, 10-0, in the final stanza.

Green Bay then had one of the greatest meltdowns in postseason history on Jan. 10 when it fell to its greatest rival, Chicago.

“We didn’t execute and that’s been a problem for us,” linebacker Quay Walker said of the late game collapse against the Bears. “Honestly just finishing games. Putting guys away.

“Even before I got here, I feel like this always been a part of this organization when it comes down to big games, like finishing games.”

Added safety Javon Bullard: “That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing. We’re going to have to get our (expletive) together.”

We’ll have to wait until September to see if Green Bay can do that with LaFleur.

Let’s see if the new team president provides some answers before then.