By Eric Goska
 |
| Packers head coach Matt LaFleur (NFL Game Pass screenshot) |
Matt LaFleur’s pursuit of Paul Brown is in jeopardy.
The Packers’ head coach has never lost two regular-season
games in a row. But with the Chiefs having ended his team’s seven-game winning
streak with a 13-7 victory Sunday and the Seattle Seahawks on tap, his
extraordinary accomplishment is in peril.
The loss in Kansas City was just the eighth time LaFleur has
tasted defeat in the regular season since he assumed control in January 2019. Green
Bay followed each of its previous seven losses with a win.
This time is different if for no other reason than LaFleur
may be without his future Hall of Fame quarterback for a second straight week.
Jordan Love, not Aaron Rodgers, got the nod against the Chiefs after Rogers
tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week.
Now, it’s possible Rodgers may be back in time to face the
Seahawks. And, if not, it’s possible Love might play well enough in his second
career start for the Green and Gold to prevail.
But coming out on top is far from assured despite Seattle’s
(3-5) struggles of late.
The contest against the Chiefs was the 41st regular-season
game coached by the 42-year-old LaFleur. After two-and-a-half years on the job,
his record is an impressive 33-8 (.805).
It bears repeating: his charges have never lost consecutive
regular-season games. Who does that?
The list is short, and it includes some of the greatest
names in the NFL’s long and storied history.
Stick around long enough and any coach, regardless of talent
or pedigree, will lose. The question is how soon and how often.
For many – even some of the most revered in the business – coming
up short happened right away. Tom Landry, Andy Reid, Jeff Fisher, Tom Coughlin,
Mike Holmgren, Bud Grant, Joe Gibbs, Tony Dungy, Mike McCarthy, Marvin Lewis, and Mike Ditka all won more than 100 games. All eleven were handed Ls the first
two times their teams took to the field.
Not LaFleur. As a rookie coach, his team won three times to
open the 2019 season. In the time since, his club has fashioned winning streaks
of four, nine, two, five, and seven games in a row.
Some of the seven setbacks – Chargers
(11-26), 49ers (8-37), Buccaneers (10-38), and
Saints (3-38) – were brutal. But in each case, the team bounced back.
Only four coaches have held out longer than LaFleur: Brown
(49 games), Guy Chamberlain (47), Red Miller (46), and Allie Sherman (44).
Another three – George Seifert (38), Steve Mariucci (38), and George Halas (37)
– pushed past 35.
Chamberlain captured four NFL titles. Miller guided the 1977
Broncos to a Super Bowl. Sherman directed the New York Giants to three
consecutive championship games (1961-63).
Brown led the Cleveland Browns to four consecutive titles
(1946-49) in the All-American Football Conference. Then, after Cleveland was
absorbed into the NFL in 1950, his hirelings appeared in six consecutive title
games (1950-55), winning three.
At that time, the NFL regular season consisted of 12 games.
Brown’s outfit didn’t drop two straight until losing to twice to the Eagles,
once in the 1953 finale and again in the 1954 opener.
For LeFleur to get to 50 and surpass Brown, Green Bay would
need to prevail against the Seahawks and not commit a two-step misstep until 2022
or beyond.
So, let’s be upbeat and say that happens: the Packers win
Sunday and they avoid a two-fer for the remainder of the season. How far does
LaFleur have to go to get the record for longest start to a coaching career
without three straight losses?
Get ready for a long haul. Seifert, who coached the 49ers (1989-1996)
and the Panthers (1999-2001), didn’t suffer his first three-game losing streak until
his 164th regular-season game.
Game Coach Years Final Record
49 Paul Brown 1950-1954 166-100-6
47 Guy Chamberlain 1922-1925 58-16-7
46 Red Miller 1977-1980 40-22-0
44 Allie Sherman 1961-1964 57-51-4
42* Matt LaFleur 2019-2021
38 George Seifert 1989-1991 114-62-0
38 Steve Mariucci 1997-1999 72-67-0
37 George Halas 1920-1923 318-148-31
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