The 2018 Titans offense was not one of the high-scoring units that sparked discussion about the rapid evolution of offensive football in the NFL.
Tennessee ranked 27th in points and 25th in yards during Matt LaFleur’s first and only year as their offensive coordinator, but that didn’t dissuade the Packers from hiring him as their head coach. It didn’t hurt that LaFleur had been with one of those high-powered offenses with the Rams in 2017, but there were things about 2018 that also appealed to the team.
Packers president Mark Murphy said the team was impressed with how LaFleur adapted to injuries, including multiple absences from starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, and LaFleur said the experience was a necessary one.
“I needed to challenge myself,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “It would have been easy to stay in L.A. You look at the roster, you look at the success they’re having this year. I took the risk because I knew I had to get out of my comfort zone and grow as a coach. The lessons I learned this year, I learned football is not easy. You’d better navigate through some adversity, and I was proud of that.”
The hope in Green Bay is that LaFleur will be able to do more than make the most out of adverse situations, but it was clear on Wednesday that the team liked the fact that he was able to do that when his job required him to do it.
