Read Part I here
Our entire two-part series on Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is available to paid subscribers.
He saw red.
That’s all.
An intrinsic need to seek and destroy.
No, T.J. Lang did not carefully calculate the permutations of his predicament in real time. His 2014 Green Bay Packers were down, 14-10, to the Dallas Cowboys in the third quarter of an NFC divisional round showdown at Lambeau Field. The ball was at the Dallas 12-yard line. Second and 6. If there was ever a time to exemplify restraint, this was it. Instead, the team’s resident enforcer saw wide receiver Davante Adams fighting for extra yardage — eyed defenders vulture’ing around his teammate — and flew in to throw a vicious block.
Mayhem ensued. Suddenly, Lang was Jon Snow taking on a Cowboy militia.
The Lambeau faithful loved it. The officials, however, did not. Lang was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and Green Bay was forced to settle for a field goal. Green Bay gritted out a 26-21 victory to advance to the conference championship, but part of Lang still felt “like shit” inside the locker room. His split-second decision could’ve ended the season.
Naturally, he dreaded what came next.
The morning after games, head coach Mike McCarthy would replay about five good plays and five bad plays in front of everyone to drive home his final points. On the sideline, defensive players loved his hostility. They slapped him on the back and assured, “We got your back.” Adams appreciated it considering one of those defenders could’ve lit him up. Nor did the logic from officials make any sense. Lang wasn’t flagged for his block. Rather, officials told him he “instigated” the brawl. All minor details. Lang hadn’t spoken to any coaches, so he feared McCarthy would tear him apart.
Sure enough, McCarthy wasted no time plastering this play up on the video screen. Lang got nervous. Shit, he told himself. I’m going to get my ass ripped. McCarthy hit play and let the melee play in full.
“TJ,” McCarthy began, “if you get a chance to do this again…”
Lang’s blood pressure rose. The room went silent for 2.5 seconds that felt like 2.5 hours.
Then came the hammer.
“…do the same fucking thing! You protect your fucking guys. You play to the whistle!”
Relief. Joy. Acknowledgment that his God-given instincts in this sport were allowed.
Players told Lang this was the loudest they had ever heard Lambeau.
Green Bay lost four points on the drive, but gained something far greater.
“It was Cowboys-Packers,” Lang says. “Two very historic teams that don’t like each other. And even during that brawl, you black out because it’s like, ‘Holy shit.’ Adrenaline’s pumping. You don’t really hear anything, but you could tell it took everybody to the next level. It woke everybody up a little bit like, ‘Oh shit, fuck this. We ain’t letting them come in here and punk us.’”
One split-second decision that contrasts sharply with the indecision that nuked a Packers season 11 years later.
The 2025 Packers were riding high at 9-3-1 into a date with the Denver Broncos. On fourth and 1 in the first quarter, Jordan Love scrambled for the required yard and his head was promptly two-hand shoved into the grass by Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga. Nobody rushed to Love’s defense. Instead, those in the vicinity simply pointed a finger at the bully as if on an elementary playground… and the teacher didn’t even see the cheap shot. Hufanga was later fined $11,533, but never drew a flag.
So, what is a Matt LaFleur Football Team? Last season, it was a group that refused to stand up when punked. Green Bay lost its final five games in agonizing fashion, and the same issues have trickled into this 2026 season.
Matt LaFleur possesses many excellent qualities. His offensive acumen is considered elite. Those who witnessed the LaFleur-Rodgers-Love dynamic firsthand praise the Packers head coach. He helped mold an ultra-raw passer out of Utah State into one of the best in the game. Entire franchises wander aimlessly for years when a Hall of Famer exits the building. Green Bay contends in perpetuity. This ability to develop a quarterback and scheme receivers open gets waves of coaches hired each cycle.
X’s and O’s alone, however, do not constitute a team identity.
Into Year 8, Matt LaFleur is a man still searching for his… and that’s a problem.
When bad turns to worse, something’s missing in the hearts and minds of these Packers… and that’s an indictment of coaching.