The Green ͏Bay Packers had their wild-card game under control, ͏and everyone in the building knew it. Then the second half started, and everything felt off.͏ The ͏energy changed. The confidence dipped. What followed wasn’t just ͏a loss to the Bears, it was the kind of collapse that puts͏ a head coach under͏ the microscope.
Interestingly, that scrutiny of Matt LaFleur has led one reporter to draw a parallel between LaFleur and the Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
One Playoff Meltdown, Two Coaches, and a League Obsessed With Overreaction
The Packers didn’t get blown out. ͏They͏ unravelled.͏ A 21–3 halftime lead turned into hesitation, conservative decisions, and an offense that stopped attacking. You could see it on the sideline. LaFleur͏ wasn’t ͏dictating the game anymore; he was reacting. The Chicago Bears picked ͏up on it ͏immediately, and once the momentum swung, the ͏Packers ͏never ͏grabbed it ͏back.
That collapse didn’t go͏ unnoticed in the ͏Buffalo Bills’ locker͏ room.
Bills͏ reporter Sa͏l͏ Maio͏rana reacted sharply, using the Packers͏’ second-half unravelling as a direct rebuttal to growing ͏calls for Sean McDermott’s dismissal. “People want Sean McDermott fired. It’s insane to me. Did you just watch Matt LaFleur – so called great young coach – completely f*** that game up? That second half was laughable,” Maiorana wrote.
People want Sean McDermott fired. It’s insane to me. Did you just watch Matt LaFleur – so called great young coach – completely fuck that game up? That second half was laughable
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) January 11, 2026
The point wasn’t to excuse the Bills’ failures. It was intended to highlight how quickly public perception can become detached from reality. LaFleur has been marketed for years as a top-tier young coach. One poorly managed half exposed how fragile that label can be when decisions are made under playoff pressure.
Maiorana clarified his stance in a follow-up, emphasizing that defending McDermott isn’t blind loyalty. “It’s not a love affair with McDermott. It’s the fact that I think he’s a good coach, period,” he said, citing eight playoff appearances in nine seasons and five division titles. The message was blunt: sustained success shouldn’t be dismissed because the final step hasn’t happened yet.
It’s not a love affair with McDermott. It’s the fact that I think he’s a good coach, period. They’ve gone to the playoffs 8 of 9 years, won the division 5 times. Yeah. they haven’t won a Super Bowl. A lot of teams haven’t won a Super Bowl. https://t.co/dl5Sop2Dfg
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) January 11, 2026
Still, pressure in Buffalo is real. Despite a 98–50 record under McDermott, whispers about a potential pivot haven’t gone away. The Bills have been floated as a sleeper team for Jim Harbaugh, not because McDermott is failing, but because expectations have evolved.
McDermott has reached the AFC Championship twice since 2020. Both runs ended against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City. That context mattered then. It matters less now. With the Chiefs out of the playoff picture, the margin for explanation has narrowed.
Mike Florio captured that tension, writing, “In Buffalo, it can be argued that the window has already closed on the Bills, and that the supreme skills and abilities of quarterback Josh Allen have created the impression that it remains open.” An early, ugly loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team Florio called better, could force owner Terry Pegula to confront uncomfortable questions.
The Packers offer a parallel warning. LaFleur’s contract runs through 2026, and extension talks were reportedly coming. After the loss to the Bears, he shut down questions about job security, saying, “With all due respect to your question, Pete, now’s not the time for that.”
Packers president Ed Policy has already expressed his dislike for lame-duck situations, underscoring how quickly certainty can vanish.
The bigger takeaway is simple. Coaching reputations aren’t built on regular seasons alone. They’re defined by composure when the game tilts. McDermott now coaches with clarity or consequence. LaFleur coaches with scrutiny he hasn’t faced before. In January, one half can change everything.
