LaFleur: Rodgers Will Be Leader of Pack for ‘Long Time’

“I’m pumped about getting to coach this young quarterback,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur told NFL.com of coaching Jordan Love.

Bill Huber | Apr 25, 2020

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur will talk to Packers beat reporters after the draft on Saturday.

On Friday, he talked to NFL.com’s Michael Silver about the decision to draft Jordan Love in the first round and what it means for longtime starter Aaron Rodgers.

“Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is the leader of this football team, and my expectation is that he will be for a long time,” LaFleur said. “I sincerely love the guy, and I love working with him, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. I’m really excited about where we can take this, and that hasn’t changed one bit.”

LaFleur said he talked to Rodgers after the pick was made. Echoing what general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Friday night, LaFleur called Rodgers a “consummate pro” about his place in a vastly changed quarterbacks room. To be sure, the Packers’ success in 2020 will be tied as heavily to Rodgers as ever. Green Bay reached the NFC Championship Game in 2019, only to be crushed by the 49ers. San Francisco had two first-round picks and added former Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams in a trade with Washington on Saturday. The Packers, meanwhile, used their first-round pick on their quarterback of the future.

“I’m pumped about getting to coach this young quarterback,” LaFleur said of Love. “This kid has a chance to be really good, and what a perfect situation for him: He has a chance to come here and soak it all in and learn from one of the best quarterbacks -- if not the best -- of all time. He's a humble kid who will take accountability and try to get better and better. And he will definitely have a front-row seat to greatness.”

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Published Apr 25, 2020

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.