When the postseason expanded from six teams per conference to seven in 2020, no coaches complained about the complication of the annual path to the Super Bowl. And for good reason.
For most coaches, the ultimate pass-fail for short- and long-term job security is making it to the playoffs. With two extra spots, two more coaches whose teams otherwise would have missed the party get a ticket to it, every year.
In the last three years, that extra NFC seat at the table has helped the Packers and coach Matt LaFleur.
The Packers have a three-year streak as the NFC’s No. 7 seed. Throw in 2022 (when a Week 18 loss to the Lions knocked Green Bay out), and the Packers’ absence from the postseason would be four seasons and counting, under the pre-2020 format.
Which would be very bad for LaFleur.
LaFleur’s contract expires after the 2026 season. In June, new Packers CEO Ed Policy said that LaFleur and G.M. Brian Gutekunst wouldn’t get new deals until after the season, if then. Policy also made it clear that he’s not a fan of lame-duck arrangements.
And so the message was clear. Up or potentially out. As to the threshold question of making or missing the playoffs, the Packers and LaFleur (and Gutekunst) have benefited from the fact that the league decided to add a seventh seed, five seasons ago.
