Green Bay Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy said several weeks ago that the teams search for a new head coach wouldn’t center around quarterback Aaron Rodgers approval, but they would welcome the quarterback’s input.
But who was Murphy kidding. The number one job for new 39-year-old head coach Matt LaFleur is to get the Packers back into the playoffs with a chance to win championships. To do that, LaFleur needs to figure out how to get Rodgers to return to the elite form that he possessed not to long ago.
Murphy and his management team know that as well. Even before he offered the job to LaFleur on Monday, general manager Brian Gutekunst was told to call LaFleur to have a discussion. That phone call was the start of the relationship building process between the two and it will need to grow leaps and bounds in the coming months as the Packers push towards the 2019 season.
At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, LaFleur acknowledged that it’ll be important to build a relationship with every player on the team. But he also knows it starts with Rodgers. [Read more…]