PHOENIX — The 2026 NFL coaching landscape just got personal. Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stood under the blistering Arizona sun on Monday and delivered a blunt message to the league’s newest head coach: his younger brother, Mike. “I want to help him,” Matt said with a grin that didn’t quite reach his competitive eyes. “I want to kick his ass at the same time.”
The Arizona Cardinals officially turned the keys over to Mike LaFleur in February, ending a month-long search to replace Jonathan Gannon after a dismal 3-14 campaign in 2025. While the hire adds a second pair of brothers to the NFL’s head coaching ranks—joining the Harbaughs—the honeymoon phase ended the moment the flight landed in Phoenix for the league meetings. Matt LaFleur isn’t interested in a sentimental passing of the torch. He’s interested in dominating the NFC.
The Packers are coming off a rollercoaster 2025 season that saw a blockbuster trade for All-Pro Micah Parsons followed by a crushing five-game losing streak to close the year. For Matt, seeing Mike in the “big chair” is a point of pride, but also a new target on the schedule. The two are already finalizing plans for a joint practice during training camp, a move designed to sharpen two rosters desperate for a 2026 rebound.
“Inevitably, we all know what’s going to happen after you keep hitting your own brother for a while. We’re going to hug each other after it, but when you’re going, you’re going. And it should be competitive. I love joint practices because you get to hit somebody else, see a different scheme—you’ve got to break up the training camp grind.”
— Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Head Coach
The vibes in Phoenix weren’t all brotherly love. Matt LaFleur also had to answer for a startling drop in the NFL Players Association team report cards. The Packers plummeted from 7th to 21st overall this year. Most alarming? Matt’s personal grade from his players sank to a B-, with specific marks down on “respect for players.”
The Packers’ boss didn’t flinch at the data. He acknowledged the internal friction that often bubbles up during a losing skid but maintained his stance on leadership. “You can’t be all things to all people,” he told reporters near the Biltmore pool. “Great leaders are great listeners, but that doesn’t mean we’re always going to do what that person suggests.” It was the response of a veteran coach who knows that winning games is the only real way to fix a locker room’s mood.
