Packers HC Matt LaFleur speaks on 'special' chance to coach with brother Mike LaFleur in joint practice with Cardinals
· Yahoo Sports
As the preseason starts to reach a close, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is tackling a major challenge: working alongside his little brother. The Packers are in joint practices this week with the Arizona Cardinals, led by LaFleur's brother, first-year head coach Mike LaFleur.
Matt, who is in his eighth year as the Packers' head coach, told reporters on Monday that he and Mike have been planning out practice together, though he joked that any feedback on the schedule has gone "pretty much one way."
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"He's quick to criticize everything that I put on the schedule. He's like, 'Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? We never do this.' And I was like, 'Alright Mike, you've got all the answers,'" Matt joked. "It's been healthy, it's been good. There's been give-and-take on both sides for sure."
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With Mike being hired by the Cardinals in February, the LaFleurs joined John and Jim Harbaugh as the only sets of brothers serving as head coaches for different NFL teams.
The familiarity between the two is another perk, giving the Green Bay and Arizona staff a unique level of trust — and, possibly, a different way of diffusing conflict. Though multiple joint practices this preseason have escalated into skirmishes, Matt joked about a potential solution if things start getting tense.
"If there is an issue, I'm gonna tell the guys, 'Hey, you come tag me in, they can tag in my brother, and we'll throw down on the 50,'" Matt quipped.
Matt said he hadn't thought much about how it'll feel to play against Mike, but said he's "sure it'll be a special moment."
"I think it's going to be pretty special, but at the end of the day, we're just looking to try to get good work on both sides," Matt said of spending the week with his brother on the other sideline. "Certainly always going to prioritize the Green Bay Packers but if there is another team in the National Football League that I'll be rooting for, it will be the Arizona Cardinals."
Other than Friday's preseason game, the Packers and the Cardinals are not scheduled to face off this season. Matt said that his parents will "probably look like a Christmas tree" when rooting for their sons, in Packers green and Cardinals red.