Packers coach Matt LaFleur must have been a bit surprised when his name came up in a presser after the Steelers’ wild-card loss to the Texans. The Packers had, after all, already been eliminated by the Bears following their stunning collapse during last Saturday’s wild-card playoff game, and LaFleur seemed to have enough on his plate with his job possibly on the line this offseason.
Then, Aaron Rodgers gave him one of the best endorsements he could have ever asked for.
Following the Steelers’ 30-6 blowout loss, Rodgers spoke at length about how veteran coaches like LaFleur and Mike Tomlin were currently viewed in the NFL.
“When you hear conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleurs of the world ... when I first got in the league, there wouldn’t be conversation about whether those guys were on the hot seat,” Rodgers said. “But the way that the league is covered now and the way there’s snap decisions and the validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what they’re talking about, to me that’s an absolute joke.
“For either of those two guys to be on the hot seat is really apropos of where we’re at as a society and as a league.”
"When you have the right guy, and the culture is right, you don't think about making a change."
— ESPN (@espn) January 13, 2026
–Aaron Rodgers shared his thoughts on the futures of Mike Tomlin and Matt LaFleur pic.twitter.com/uIIV7VNtAz
LaFleur caught wind of Rodgers’s strong endorsement of him and had a priceless response:
“I’m speechless,” LaFleur said, via a text to The Athletic. “He didn’t have to do that, but he did. (It’s) one of the nicest compliments (of) my life. I’m so appreciative of him for that.”
LaFleur and Rodgers briefly overlapped in Green Bay, working together for four seasons from 2019 to ‘22. The Packers coach may have caught Rodgers in the later years of his Hall of Fame quarterbacking career, but Rodgers was meeting LaFleur in the formative years of his coaching one, with LaFleur making his head coaching debut in ‘19.
Fast forward to 2025, and Rodgers may have just played his last snap of professional football, while LaFleur faces looming questions about his future in Green Bay following the Packers’ disappointing wild-card loss. The Packers organization reportedly wants to work out an extension with LaFleur, who has one year remaining on his contract, but as Mike Tomlin ever so bluntly put it in his own postgame presser: words are cheap.
In any case, it’s nice to see Rodgers giving his old coach a sweet shout-out as he closed out what could be his final NFL season. All eyes will be on both the former Packer and the current Packers coach as they look ahead to an uncertain 2026.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Matt LaFleur Had Priceless Reaction to Aaron Rodgers Sticking Up For Him in Presser.
