Packers Rank Third in NFLPA’s Team Report Cards But LaFleur Dinged

INDIANAPOLIS – The Green Bay Packers rank third in the NFLPA’s annual team report cards.

According to the union, 1,706 players responded to an 11-category survey, with the “goals” to “highlight” teams that were doing the right things, identify areas for improvement and “highlight best practices and standards.”

Only the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings finished better than the Packers.

Here’s the Green Bay summary:

“The Packers upgraded their facilities this past year, including the players’ meeting rooms and an underground parking facility to insulate players from the Green Bay cold. Players rank them highly in areas such as their food service and cafeteria, the way they travel and their weight room. It is a credit to Green Bay’s management team that, according to the players’ responses, the belief is that the club invests in making their workplace better year-over-year.

“While ranking third overall is an excellent achievement, Packers players do call out a desire for the club to address the locker room and treatment of families. The locker room provides players with plenty of space, but they feel it could use a renovation to update it. They also would appreciate having gameday childcare for their families, as most other NFL teams offer that to the players’ families.”

In 11 areas, the weight room and ownership received A’s. Players liked how team CEO Mark Murphy was willing to reinvest in team facilities. The strength coaches received an A-minus, with the players’ belief that they are “significantly contributing” to their success ranking sixth.

The coaches received a B-plus, a strong grade though it ranked 21st – the lowest ranking in any category. According to the survey, 92 percent of players thought coach Matt LaFleur was efficient with their time, which ranked 15th. However, he ranked 26th in players believing he was “moderately willing to listen to the locker room.”

Dan Campbell, the coach of the NFC North-winning Detroit Lions, received an A-plus. He ranked third among coaches, with players believing he was “very willing” to listen.

The Lambeau Field locker room was given a B-minus, with players liking its spaciousness but saying it needed updating.

The lowest grade was a C-plus for treatment of families, though that ranked 10th out of 32 teams. The Packers are one of seven teams that do not provide a daycare on gameday.

Via the rankings, the Packers finished fourth in travel, sixth in ownership, sixth in food/cafeteria, seventh in weight room, eighth in strength coaches, 10th in treatment of families, 11th in training room, 14th in nutritionist/dietician, 15th in locker room, 16th in training staff and 21st in head coach.

Overall in the NFC North, the Vikings were second (down from first), the Bears were 10th (up from 13th) and the Lions were 13th (up from 15th).

“Minnesota, along with Miami, have separated themselves into their own tier in terms of what it means to run a world-class NFL workplace,” the NFLPA stated. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell ranked No. 1 among coaches. Like Campbell, he was given an A-plus.

On the other hand, from 28th to 32nd were the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders.