The Green Bay Packers' ugly wild-card loss at the hands of the Chicago Bears could have a domino effect on the head-coaching cycle this offseason.
The expectation was that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur would stay in Green Bay, no matter the outcome of Saturday's game against the Bears. However, after Green Bay suffered a devastating collapse in the contest, all bets might be off.
If LaFleur does get fired, that could be bad news for the New York Giants and good news for the Miami Dolphins.
ESPN's Adam Schefter points out that, based what he's hearing around the NFL, the Packers could move to the top of John Harbaugh's list of preferred destinations if LaFleur gets fired.
Schefter goes on to add that Harbaugh has a connection to the Packers through his agent, Bryan Harlan, who is the son of former Packers president, Bob Harlan.
Adding to that, Harbaugh is from the Midwest, so he'd essentially be right at home in Green Bay, and the Packers have a better situation than the Giants overall because they are ready to win now.
All of this is obviously troubling for the New York Giants, who reportedly want Harbaugh badly. The former Baltimore Ravens coach is also rumored to be interested in the Giants.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, LaFleur getting fired could be great news for the Dolphins, who could be interested in hiring the Packers head coach.
Lest we forget, the Dolphins hired former Packers VP of player personnel, Jon-Eric Sullivan, as their new general manager and it's safe to assume he'd be very interested in hiring LaFleur if he's available.
"If the Packers part ways with Matt LaFleur, they’ve got to immediately become the favorites to win the John Harbaugh sweepstakes," the Sun Sentinel's David Furones wrote. "But then I think you have to watch the Miami Dolphins with LaFleur, with former GB exec Jon-Eric Sullivan in MIA."
While Harbaugh to the Giants once seemed inevitable, that no longer appears to be the case and now New York has to worry about Green Bay swooping in and taking the Super Bowl-winning head coach if LaFleur gets fired.
New York better keep Kevin Stefanski's number close by.
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