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Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson didn't mince his words after his team defeated the Green Bay Packers 31-27 on Saturday. He was questioned during Monday's press conference if anything personal was going on between him and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
“This is a rivalry and city of Chicago, Green Bay, it needs to be a rivalry,” Johnson said.
Johnson's statement came following a video of their short postgame handshake that went viral. He walked up, shook LaFleur's hand quickly and walked away. He did not say anything.
Chicago came back from being down 21-3 at halftime, scoring 28 points in the second half. The victory knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs and sent the Bears to the divisional round.
Johnson displayed a lot of emotions in the locker room. He shouted expletives while having a chat with his players after the win.
“F**k the Packers!" Johnson said. "I f***ing hate those guys!”
NFL insider drops update on Matt LaFleur's future with Packers
The Green Bay Packers will continue with Matt LaFleur as their coach despite facing a defeat in the wild-card round on Saturday. NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the franchise wants to extend his contract.
“Packers now are expected to try to work out a deal in the coming days to keep head coach Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, per sources,” Schefter tweeted.
LaFleur said after the game that he plans to hold a conversation with the Packers president Ed Policy soon. His contract lasts through next season, however, Policy previously noted that he doesn't want a coach to have an unclear future.
When questioned if he would coach one year left on his deal, LaFleur focused that he was not having a thought about it. LaFleur made it certain that he is more worried about resolving what went wrong in the playoffs loss.
“I don't think those are questions for me,” LaFleur said to reporters on Sunday.
“Like I said, I think my sole focus is just trying to find solutions to some of our issues and why things went awry yesterday. And you know, it's disappointing. I'm as disappointed, obviously, as, as all you guys, as our fans, as everybody in our organization, because we had plenty of opportunities to slam the door shut, and we didn't get it done.”
Big changes on the cards?
If LaFleur stays, some changes could happen with his staff. He wants defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to get a chance to be a head coach somewhere. LaFleur added that the front office is still pondering whether special teams coach Rich Bisaccia and others will remain.
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