New Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is comfortable turning the page on whatever past drama occurred within the confines of his new place of employment.
LaFleur told Albert Breer of SI.com that he hasn’t spent much time thinking about the details of an explosive story from Ty Dunne of Bleacher Report posted right before the Packers opened their offseason workout program. The article’s dirtiest details included insight into the relationship between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former coach Mike McCarthy, although much of the reporting has been refuted by both Rodgers and McCarthy.
“I wasn’t here, so I don’t know what happened,” LaFleur told Breer. “And quite frankly, I don’t really care what happened. All I care about is how we move forward as a football team. All I care about is the partnership that we’re forming, how that goes, and our communication. That’s all I really care about.”
How will the Packers move forward and form partnerships at Lambeau Field? LaFleur has a plan, and it revolves around having the right combination of football character, competition, communication and consistency – the four areas LaFleur has identified as the core of his program, according to Breer.
Getting on the same page with Rodgers might as well be the fifth tenet of the program.
“That relationship is critical, and it’s not necessarily because I’m the head coach—it’s because I’m the play-caller,” LaFleur said. “You have to develop relationships with everyone in that building. But when it comes to Aaron, it’s so critical, because I’m the play-caller. And so anytime you’re the play-caller, you better have a relationship with that quarterback. I do believe this, and I’ve said it from Day One—it’s a partnership.”
Rodgers, a two-time MVP, agrees.
“Ultimately, we both know who the boss is, and it’s him,” Rodgers said in an interview with ESPN Milwaukee last week. “But it works best when it’s a partnership.”
LaFleur doesn’t need to care about the recent past in Green Bay – or acknowledge it publicly – but he has to make sure some version of the history doesn’t repeat itself. The relationship between McCarthy and Rodgers fractured on some level. The ability to build a strong, lasting partnership with Rodgers will likely determine if LaFleur gets the Packers back into Super Bowl contention.
