BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Many Ex-Packers Wonder If The Rodgers-LaFleur Marriage Will Work

Following
This article is more than 5 years old.

Jermichael Finley is arguably the Green Bay Packers’ best tight end in the last quarter century.

In just 70 career games, Finley caught 223 passes for 2,785 yards and 20 touchdowns. Then in Week 6 of 2013, Finley suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury after being leveled by Cleveland safety Tashaun Gipson.

Finley had a rocky relationship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers during his time in Green Bay. And earlier this week, Finley said he believes new Packers head coach Matt LaFleur will also have his hands full with Rodgers.

During an interview with the Wisconsin-based Bill Michaels Sports Talk Network, Finley was asked if Rodgers is coachable.

“He’s coachable to a point,” Finley said of Rodgers. “Once you try to overcoach him, that’s when he’s going to do his own thing. With (former coach Mike) McCarthy, McCarthy used to call a play and Aaron would look at him and (then) it’s a whole different play.

“And we just ran the play that No. 12 called. Sorry. And I think it's going to be a lot worse with a young guy (LaFleur) and with where Aaron’s at in his career. He’s an icon of the NFL.”

Rodgers and McCarthy butted heads countless times in recent years.

Rodgers changed several of McCarthy’s plays, and the former head coach was largely helpless — especially after Rodgers signed a four-year, $134 million contract extension last season that made him the NFL’s highest player.

Many wonder how the 39-year-old LaFleur will get through to Rodgers, 35, if the 55-year-old McCarthy couldn’t.

“At this moment, you just gave this guy $200 million,” Finley said. “It’s going to be very hard to coach a guy same age, his pay scale is (raising his arm) up here and it’s going to be hard to tell Aaron what to do.”

Finley isn’t the first former Packer to wonder if LaFleur can get through to Rodgers.

Greg Jennings, a Packers receiver from 2006-’12 and now an analyst for FOX Sports, said getting on the same page with Rodgers is an arduous task.

“We all saw what Mike McCarthy was unable to do, which was get the best out of Aaron Rodgers that he possibly could,” Jennings said recently. “You’re going to be coming in, starting from scratch (with) a guy who has one of the highest IQs in football, who believes he knows just about everything, if not all of everything.

“Can you be thick-skinned enough, strong willed and strong minded enough to butt heads with that at times and tell him, ‘No. This is how we’re going to do it. This is what you need to know and this is how I can help you grow.’ That’s going to be the challenge for the Green Bay Packers.”

Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila played in Green Bay from 2000-’08 and ranks second in Packer history in career sacks (74.5). ‘KGB’ watched as the torch was passed from Brett Favre to Rodgers after the 2007 campaign, then saw Rodgers become more difficult to coach and to play with.

“When Aaron became ‘The Man,’ he was ‘The Man’, especially in his own eyes,” Gbaja-Biamila said. “Let’s just put it that way. Things just changed. I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to lie to you. It’s hard for me to say this without causing drama.

“But I will say that between Brett and Aaron — and I’m just being honest here so do what you want with this — with everything that Brett accomplished, you would think he’d be a little more arrogant, but he was actually more humble. And I felt that Aaron was a little bit more on the arrogant side.

“I would say from the time (Rodgers) arrived to the time he became a starter, I felt that he changed, and it wasn’t for the better.”

Rodgers is undoubtedly one of the elite quarterbacks of this era, winning two MVP awards, a Super Bowl championship in 2010 and a Super Bowl MVP. But he’s also been extremely difficult to coach and he’s never been beloved by teammates.

Rodgers has a history of showing teammates up on the field and failing to take blame when things go poorly. During a Davis Mattek podcast this week, former Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis discussed how detrimental that approach can be.

“I think positive reinforcement works a lot better than negative," Janis said. "It can tear you down and break a player. You take a really good player and just keep doing that stuff to them, he’s going to start being one of those guys you can’t count on because he’s feeling like he’s inconsistent and starting to get down on himself. It’s one of those things you can’t really change because (Rodgers) is the way he is.”

Getting Rodgers to make even subtle changes will be one of LaFleur's greatest challenges. LaFleur has had success working with Jared Goff with the Los Angeles Rams, Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Robert Griffin III in Washington, but Rodgers could be an entirely different animal.

How LaFleur eventually fares in Green Bay might ultimately come down to how things go with Rodgers. And while many ex-Packers aren’t optimistic, LaFleur is extremely enthusiastic.

“It comes down to developing that relationship, that trust, especially with the quarterback,” LaFleur said. “Honestly, I’m not going to have any preconceived notions moving forward. I’m just want to try to develop the best relationship with Aaron because he is a key piece to the puzzle and a key reason why we’re going to get to where we want to go.”