Matt LaFleur isn't a finalist for NFL Coach of the Year and social media can't believe it
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur doesn't get a lot of national respect, does he?
Despite entering the 2023 season among coaches with the highest winning percentages in NFL history that was never enough for him to earn year-end honors through his first four years. And now after his team's playoff season in 2023 he's not even a finalist for NFL Coach of the Year.
Many, of course, tied his success to Aaron Rodgers. So, what did LaFleur do without Rodgers when many expected the Packers to take a step back in their "rebuilding season" and a roster that didn't include any Pro Bowl or All-Pros?
He led the wide-eyed Packers, who finished 9-8 in the regular season, to the playoffs. He did this with the youngest roster in the NFL. No team younger than the Packers had even qualified for the postseason in nearly 50 years much less win a game. The Packers did both.
And it certainly didn't get easier when All-Pro and Pro Bowl players went down with injuries and missed large portions of the season.
After a rocky start, LaFleur had the Packers playing their best ball in the second half of the season and clearly put his stamp on a new-look offense, which got better as quarterback Jordan Love came into his own. The Packers won six of their final eight games, including three straight to advance to the postseason. Sure, there were clunkers, but the Packers won several big games before national audiences this season. Maybe the voters weren't watching.
Of note, the awards are voted on before the playoffs.
And to be fair, the five finalists (Detroit Lions' Dan Campbell, Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, Houston Texans' DeMeco Ryans, San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan and Cleveland Browns' Kevin Stefanski) also had their teams in the playoffs. Campbell, Harbaugh and Shanahan still have their teams playing in the NFC or AFC championships on Sunday.
The other two — Stefanski in Cleveland and Ryans in Houston — had pretty good stories, themselves. Stefanski led a Browns franchise that had only been to the playoffs one other time in 21 years back to the postseason. The team that beat the Browns in the wild-card round of the playoffs was Ryans' Texans. Ryans accomplished the feat in his first year in charge with a rookie quarterback, though one that like Love showed he was more than capable and is the favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
While the voters didn't give LaFleur his props, social media certainly did.
https://t.co/JvGhq7Y4np pic.twitter.com/paTqYK6edg
— sam. (@sammwichh) January 25, 2024
Matt LaFleur had a new, first-time starting QB and led the Packers to the playoffs yet he’s not even a finalist for Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/KoapAE5JuX
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 25, 2024
For Matt LaFleur to not even get a nomination in the 1st year after Rodgers when his demise was predicted by many....Wild. Side note: I love Shanny, but who didn't say they were at least the 2nd best team in the NFC? Hey man, wow, what a coaching job! pic.twitter.com/rUydIAoLx2
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) January 25, 2024
Not having Matt LaFleur on this list is actually criminal. pic.twitter.com/YKDnVI15pD
— Garrick ConesHighWaters Williams (@ConesHighWaters) January 25, 2024
Matt LaFleur deserves a lot more respect. There are very few coaches who could've taken the 2023 Packers to within one minute of the NFC Championship game.
— Michael Rodney (@PackersNotes) January 25, 2024
not even a mention of Matt LaFleur after everyone bashed the Packers & thought we’d be picking top 5 in the draft is laughable https://t.co/IaH12oHMrj
— 𝙏𝙚𝙯 (@TezFrm901) January 25, 2024
Annnnd the Matt LaFleur disrespect continues…. https://t.co/QFw9Twevwj
— Jonathan (@jjpix13) January 25, 2024
Matt LaFleur was the coach of the year, despite this nonsense. https://t.co/Go45yo0fye
— Ahsan Ejaz (@AhsanDEjaz) January 25, 2024
Matt Lafleur getting overlooked is a joke. What is the criteria to be COTY?? https://t.co/WIQ96gMqtM
— Steve (@postalsteve) January 25, 2024
I think the longer that everybody pretends that Matt LaFleur doesn't exist, the better for the long-term progression of the franchise, so feel free to keep not remembering, everybody 😉👌 https://t.co/Ex5LNdu7ge
— Justin R / YT: BridgewatersFinest (@BlockBuster_Guy) January 25, 2024
Matt LaFleur not making it as a finalist for COY is ridiculous. Nobody gave the Packers a chance to start the season, and he leads the youngest team in NFL history to make the playoffs. https://t.co/ikWDDhqxH2
— Pops.eth 🍌 (@Pops_eth_) January 25, 2024
LaFleur hot the youngest team with a 1st year starter to playoffs and he STILL gets snubbed. https://t.co/dPLIlP3t38
— 💚 💛 🏈 Brooke (fan account) ⌚️🏀🏒 (@_Brooke22) January 25, 2024
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Matt LaFleur isn't NFL coach of the year finalist, social media reacts