Fights at joint practices are nothing new in the NFL, but a fracas in this week’s workout with the Packers and Cardinals would present a different wrinkle than we’re accustomed to seeing.
Matt LaFleur is in his eighth year as the head coach of the Packers and his brother Mike is in his first season in the top job for the Cardinals, which led to a quip from the Packers coach about how he’s talking to his players about keeping a cap on their emotions during Wednesday’s session.
“If there’s an issue, I’m going to tell the guys, ‘Hey, you come tag me in. They can tag in my brother. And we’ll throw down on the 50,’” Matt LaFleur said Monday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
The Packers coach is the elder brother and he has more experience than Mike, but he said that hasn’t stopped his brother from trying to throw his weight around in planning for this week’s work.
“He’s quick to criticize everything that I put on the schedule,” Matt said. “So, he’s like, ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? We never do this.’ And I was like, ‘All right, Mike, you’ve got all the answers.’ Nah, it’s been healthy, it’s been good. There’s been give-and-take on both sides for sure.”
LaFleur said it will be “pretty special” to share the field with his brother in this context and it should be a memorable day for the entire family regardless of whether there are any scuffles before the final whistle.
