If you had told Matt LaFleur years ago that not only he, but his little brother Mike, would be head coaches in the NFL, he wouldn't have believed you.
Put bluntly: "I'd say you're full of s---," the elder LaFleur said Tuesday at his brother's introductory news conference as the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Nobody's full of it, though.
The LaFleurs will become the third brotherly duo to simultaneously coach in the NFL, joining another current tandem -- Jim and John Harbaugh -- and the Grudens (Jon and Jay).
Matt, 46, has been the Green Bay Packers head coach since 2019. Among his prior jobs was Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator under friend Sean McVay in 2017. Mike, 38, spent the past three seasons as the Rams OC.
Now, they're both head coaches.
Despite the reality of it all since Mike LaFleur was tabbed as the Cardinals’ newest head coach, it's still unbelievable for Matt.
"It's just, yeah, it is pretty surreal," Matt said Tuesday, via Sports360AZ’s Jordan Hamm. "I mean, just humble beginnings. My dad at Central Michigan. I walked on at Western Michigan and played D-II ball. Mike played at Elmhurst, D-III ball. And I think we have a really great appreciation for just guys that essentially are playing for the love of the game. And I think that is kind of in our core and who we are. We've been so, so fortunate to be around so many great people."
The Cardinals and Packers won't be playing each other in 2026 -- at least in the regular season -- but there will still be plenty of familiar faces across the sidelines for each of the LaFleurs, who are part of an extended football family that seems to keep on growing and growing. It includes the likes of McVay, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh. Both LaFleurs have coached alongside each of them.
"I don't think I'm standing here today if I hadn't developed a relationship with Robert Saleh when we were cutting our teeth at Central Michigan University as GAs (graduate assistants), living in not the best situation," Matt said. "Those are great memories. That's almost when life was a hell of a lot easier. But just the relationships that were built along the way. And then being around so many great football minds, from the Shanahans, to the McVays, to Dan Quinn. It's been a great journey."
It's a great journey that's moving down another path that was seemingly unfathomable for Matt LaFleur. It's very much a reality now, though: His baby brother has joined him as one of 16 NFC head coaches.
Indeed, the LaFleurs are blooming in 2026.
