LaFleur: Rodgers called before Packers offered HC job
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn't involved in the Green Bay Packers' search for a new head coach, but a call he made to Matt LaFleur hours before the team offered him the job may have tipped the organization's hand.
"That's kind of how I had an idea that maybe I was in the running for it," LaFleur said, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
The 39-year-old LaFleur takes over for interim head coach Joe Philbin following the mid-season firing of Mike McCarthy.
After previously working as an offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams, and a quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins, LaFleur says he's excited to coach Rodgers given all he's achieved over his 14 years in the league.
"The conversation went great," LaFleur said. "I can tell he's a passionate guy, and he wants to win. And I think that holds true for me as well. So I think we're in alignment there because, like I said before, this game is about winning. I know that he wants to add to his legacy, and the only way we're going to accomplish that is to win a world championship."
Rodgers posted one of his worst statistical seasons in 2018, a year when the two-time MVP still completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 4,442 yards and 25 touchdowns, all while tossing only two interceptions. He added 269 yards and two scores on the ground, even though the 35-year-old battled through a knee injury for much of the season.
Rodgers signed a four-year, $134-million contract during the 2018 offseason to become the NFL's highest-paid player annually.