Will negotiations between Packers and Matt LaFleur result in an extension?

The negotiation of NFL coaching contracts can be a game of high-stakes poker. Currently, the Packers and coach Matt LaFleur are sitting at the table, cards stacked face down, and preparing to begin the bidding.

Unless an until the Packers announce that LaFleur will be back for 2026, there's a chance he won't be. And leaking to multiple reporters that there will be talks on an extension does not mean that a mutually-agreeable extension will be finalized.

The Packers literally hold the cards. LaFleur's seventh season finished in major disappointment. The Packers could keep him for a lot less than they would have paid if they had made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in 15 years.

There's some potential benefit to the Packers in slow-playing the talks. LaFleur, if available, would be a viable candidate for one or more of the eight existing vacancies. As the jobs start to fill, LaFleur's leverage will be reduced.

From LaFleur's perspective, there should be a clear urgency in getting to the Green Bay bottom-line number quickly. If he refuses it, the Packers will have to choose whether to let him finish out his current deal (new Packers CEO Ed Policy has said he doesn't like lame-duck arrangements) or cut the cord.

Of course, if the Packers will be looking for a head coach, there's value in reaching an agreement or an impasse sooner than later. As the other jobs fill, their options for a new coach will begin to dissipate.

The point for now is this. No deal is done until it's done. Both sides need to know whether a deal can be reached, sooner than later. LaFleur needs to know whether he'll take the best offer the Packers make, or hold firm with a plan to coach the last year of his deal. And the Packers need to know whether LaFleur will reject the best offer, so that they can decide whether to embrace a lame-duck season or turn the page.

Negotiating an extension doesn't guarantee an extension will be finalized. Not finalizing an extension doesn't guarantee LaFleur will be back. Until a cheese puff of yellow smoke emerges from the chimney at the world headquarters of Green Bay Packers, Inc., it's still possible that the Packers will be looking for a new coach, and that LaFleur will be looking for a new job.