Packers coach Matt LaFleur signs contract extension

Bears coach Ben Johnson will keep getting a chance to beat Matt LaFleur twice a year.

The Packers agreed to extend their head coach's contract Saturday, per multiple national reports, a week after he lost to the Bears, 31-27, to end his season.

Johnson infamously said the day he was hired that he enjoyed beating LaFleur twice a year, a comment that rubbed his counterpart the wrong way. The two didn’t have a previous relationship before the Bears hired Johnson a year ago.

Their three meetings between the two teams were punctuated by three brief handshakes at the end of games. After the Bears’ playoff win, Johnson told his players exactly how much he hated the Packers.

When the season ended, LaFleur had one year left on a contract that pays him about $5 million per year, per Front Office Sports. Every other coach in the NFC North makes more than twice that.

LaFleur is one of the great regular season head coaches in modern NFL history. Among active coaches with at least 50 games on their resume, he trailed only the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, the Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh and the Bills’ Sean McDermott in winning percentage.

He won three playoff games since his hiring in 2019, though — one wild-card game and two divisional round games. He lost in the wild card round as the No. 7 seed in each of the past two seasons.

LaFleur wouldn’t answer questions about his future after the playoff loss but said coaching the Packers “means everything to him.” Quarterback Jordan Love said he had “a lot of love for Matt,” who he said “does a good job” in his role.

“I definitely think Matt should be the head coach,” he said.