Green Bay Packers Matt LaFleur was not pleased during yesterday's practice, so he did something he had never done before as an NFL head coach.
As is to be expected, especially once the pads are put on during training camp, “tempers flared” on Tuesday in the Green Bay camp. While they're certainly not the only bunch to have tension between players, few, if any, coaches reacted the way LaFleur did.
“Left tackle Rasheed Walker drew the ire of LaFleur after Walker appeared to pull down defensive end Kingsley Enagbare well after a play. LaFleur yanked Walker — and the rest of the starters — and told Walker to run. Walker hesitated but after the rest of the starting O-line plus tight end Tucker Kraft and running back Josh Jacobs started to run, he joined them,” ESPN's Rob Demovsky.
The move is not unprecedented, as then-New York Giants head coach Joe Judge infamously made both players and fellow coaches run due to various miscues during his first training camp with New York. While it didn't work out for Judge, LaFleur certainly has a different (a.k.a. better) reputation, particularly among the players, some of whom have played for him in each of the previous six seasons since he became the Packers coach.
Still, it seemed to be a culture shock for some of the Green Bay roster.
“I haven't run a lap since probably like freshman year of high school,” Walker said, via Demovsky.
“That's never happened before,” said Zach Tom, Walker's fellow O-lineman. “I haven't seen something like that since high school. We didn't want him to go around alone, so we're just like let's join him. Obviously we have his back.”
Demovsky wrote that LaFleur capped practice off with an “expletive-laced speech,” potentially regarding the “chippiness.”
Many coaches around the NFL likely share in LaFleur's frustration since not only do the extracurricular actions reflect poorly on the discipline of the team, which could cost them with penalties during the season, but they also could result in injuries, which is the worst-case scenario for a coach.