Stephen A. Smith Says Matt LaFleur May Not Survive First Half of Season
The short version
- The Packers have lost two of their first three games, falling to Atlanta in Week Three.
- Stephen A. Smith said on First Take that LaFleur may not keep his job past the first half of the season.
- Smith called the Packers a soft team and said they are ill-equipped to win without Micah Parsons.
- LaFleur has reached two Conference Championships since 2019 but no Super Bowl, with Wild Card exits the last two seasons.
- Tight end Tucker Kraft responded to fans who booed the team after the Atlanta loss.
The ESPN commentator predicted on First Take that the Green Bay head coach could be out of a job before midseason after a 1-2 start.
Green Bay has opened the NFL season with one win in its first three games, a start that has put head coach Matt LaFleur under scrutiny. The organization entered the year with the goal of contending for a Super Bowl, and the early results have fallen well short of that standard.
The most recent setback came in Week Three, when the Packers gave the Atlanta Falcons their first victory of the year at Lambeau Field. The loss drew an angry reaction from the home crowd, and the frustration carried over after the final whistle.
Fans in Wisconsin directed boos at the players once the game ended. Tight end Tucker Kraft pushed back publicly at the decision to boo, adding tension around a team already dealing with a disappointing start.
Against that backdrop, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith offered a blunt assessment of LaFleur's future on First Take. Speaking to Skip Bayless, Smith said he believes the coach's tenure in Green Bay is nearing its end.
"I think it's the end of Matt LaFleur. I think Matt LaFleur will be lucky to finish this first half of the season with a job as the head coach for the Green Bay Packers," Smith said. He also criticized the team's physicality, saying the Packers look like a soft team that can be pushed around.
Smith added that the roster appears ill-equipped to win games without Micah Parsons. His comments reflect a growing view that the Packers cannot continue functioning as they currently do under the 46-year-old head coach.
LaFleur was hired in 2019 and has not delivered a Super Bowl appearance, though he did reach two Conference Championship games. The past two seasons have ended with exits in the Wild Card round, including a first-round postseason loss to the Chicago Bears last year after making the playoffs.
The schedule does not get easier for LaFleur, with a difficult stretch of games coming over the next several weeks that could shape his future at Lambeau Field. Next up is a home matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to Global Sportscast's schedule, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 27 at 4:05 PM EDT at Raymond James Stadium, with the game airing on FOX.
