The Packers’ hiring of Matt LaFleur might be brilliant

LaFleur struggled in Tennessee, but his resume suggests he can get Aaron Rodgers back on track.

The Packers have their new head coach, and it’s the guy who led Tennessee to the league’s 27th-ranked scoring offense.

Green Bay confirmed it gave Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur the opportunity to take Mike McCarthy’s old job, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That makes LaFleur just the franchise’s third full-time head coach since 1999. The 39-year-old assistant had cropped up as a candidate to watch this hiring cycle, eventually outshining other, more experienced potential hires like Chuck Pagano, Jim Caldwell, and Mike Munchak during the Packers’ interview process.

LaFleur’s hiring unites a rising offensive mind with one of the league’s most powerful weapons. Aaron Rodgers is coming off the worst two-year stretch of his career as a starting quarterback, missing the bulk of 2017 due to injury and then playing one of his least efficient seasons in a 6-9-1 season that saw him struggle to connect with an underwhelming cast of receivers. That necessitated McCarthy’s firing — and set the tone for what Green Bay will expect from the former Tennessee OC.

LaFleur’s hiring was a trendy, risky pick

The Packers choice of LaFleur continues a trend that has paid dividends in places like Los Angeles and Chicago; promoting a young, innovative offensive mind to head coach despite a relative lack of experience as an NFL coordinator. The Rams plucked Sean McVay away from Washington after he spent three seasons as OC, only to watch him unlock Jared Goff’s potential behind center by surrounding him with weapons. The Bears, Green Bay’s NFC North rivals, scooped Matt Nagy from Kansas City after two years as the Chiefs’ OC, added a handful of playmaking targets to help boost the offense, and then saw second-year QB Mitchell Trubisky turn Chicago into a division champion.

LaFleur has two seasons of offensive coordinator experience under his belt. He was the Rams’ OC in 2017, which was good! He was also the Titans OC in 2018 which, if you look at the numbers alone, was not.

But that Tennessee team had plenty of caveats to work with. Starting quarterback Marcus Mariota was injured through much of the season. leaving Blaine Gabbert to throw more than 23 percent of the team’s passes. When Mariota was on the field he was often playing hurt, and shoulder and elbow problems sapped his accuracy early in the season.

Losing tight end Delanie Walker in Week 1, the team’s leading receiver in 2017, was a major handicap in a difficult season. And the sudden disintegration of the Titans’ offensive line — Tennessee allowed sacks on 9.7 percent of its dropbacks this season, fourth-worst in the league and more than two percent more than the previous year — is another reason why the club’s offense failed to impress.

The Titans were inconsistent throughout the season, but LaFleur deserves credit for turning tailback Derrick Henry into a monster just in time for the team’s playoff push — without a threatening passing attack to rely on, Henry still managed to gain 492 rushing yards and score seven touchdowns in his team’s final four games. He also helped push 2017 first-round draft pick Corey Davis to the top of the team’s receiving depth chart, where he had 65 catches for 891 yards.

LaFleur’s 2018 was unimpressive, but his track record before this fall’s letdown still made him a viable candidate. So what did the Packers fall in love with during their coaching search?

What can LaFleur bring to Aaron Rodgers’ game plan?

LaFleur grew into an NFL coach while working with some of the most respected offensive minds in the game. He spent his 2017 turning the Rams from the league’s lowest-scoring offense into its highest — though McVay and not LaFleur was tasked with the team’s playcalling that fall. Before that, he was Kyle Shanahan’s quarterbacks coach in Atlanta (and before that, Washington), where he helped Matt Ryan turn in an MVP season in 2016. While his track record in Nashville wasn’t inspiring, his resume suggests he’s able to glean the most from rising young stars and venerable veterans alike.

Though LaFleur’s Tennessee offenses struggled, he was able to play to his strengths while calling plays for Marcus Mariota. His experience with mobile quarterbacks and read option-type playcalling led the Titans quarterback in career highs in both rushes and rushing yards this fall. While opponents may not have been threatened by Mariota’s arm, his ability to break free from the pocket and churn up yards with his feet helped keep defenses honest.

Rodgers isn’t the same kind of runner Mariota is, but his penchant for extending plays and shredding defenses for deflating first down runs is legendary.

If LaFleur’s past is any indication, Rodgers will be tasked with more designed run plays than ever in his career. That’s a risky proposition for a 35-year-old QB, but the veteran Packers has the talent and ability to completely frustrate opponents with his legs — as long as LaFleur doesn’t overuse him.

Of course, if the Packers are truly going to follow the Rams’ and Bears’ lead, the next move after hiring a young, rising OC will be to add a cache of talented receiving weapons to the roster. Los Angeles did this with Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, and eventually Brandin Cooks. Chicago did it with Allen Robinson, Trey Burton, and Taylor Gabriel.

Green Bay will have to reload this spring; while Davante Adams is a legit WR1, Randall Cobb is headed for free agency. Geronimo Allison missed 11 games last fall. The rookie duo of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown had their share of growing pains last fall. If LaFleur wants to look like the genius the Packers are betting he’ll be, they’ll have to make some significant additions to the club’s depth chart at wideout.

So which coach are the Packers going to get?

Is LaFleur the leader who helped push Matt Ryan to his MVP potential and orchestrated an unbelievable offensive revival in Los Angeles? Or is he the guy who couldn’t make the most out of the Titans scrambled roster? Does he deserve credit for getting the Rams’ off Jeff Fisher’s 7-9 bullshit? Or is he merely a decent assistant whose stock was boosted by the fact Sean McVay was calling his offense?

The good news is that with Rodgers behind center, it won’t take long to figure out if LaFleur is a worthy addition to the hallowed hall of Packers coaches or if he’s merely a pretender to the throne.