As new era dawns, Matt LaFleur on ‘one-track mindset’

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It’s how a coach goes from a low-level offensive assistant in the NFL to a head man in 11 years. There was no time to wallow in Atlanta’s heartbreaking Super Bowl defeat when the next step in his career, as offensive coordinator for the up-and-coming Los Angeles Rams, was on the horizon.


So there’s also no time to think about any butterflies in the stomach or fond reflections on his journey when last year’s top defense in the league is looking to lay waste to the offense he’s been building with quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the last several months.


“I don’t know how you don’t do it, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said of blocking out the personal, first-game context. “It’s a tremendous challenge. We’re getting ready for the division champs. It’s a one-track mindset.”


An interesting parallel to this opening Packers-Bears matchup is LaFleur’s counterpart, Matt Nagy, was in exactly the same shoes a year ago – first-time head coach, first game against an archrival, on the road, in prime time.


Reflecting briefly on last year’s Week 1 showdown, in which the Packers rallied from a 20-point deficit to steal a 24-23 victory, Nagy viewed it as almost a rite of passage for him and his team.


“First of all, it’s amazing how fast it goes,” Nagy said. “It’s a blur. You really don’t know what to expect until it occurs. What a great ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment that I’ll never forget in losing that game like that. But you learn from it, and that’s what we did as a team. We used that as a tool to make us better.”