Packers coach Matt LaFleur has won a lot, but will it be enough if he can’t take the next step?

Matt LaFleur’s win percentage puts him in elite company. His 65.4% mark is tied for 16th all time. It’s better than Bill Belichick’s career mark of 64.7%.

But maybe that’s not good enough for Green Bay Packers fans.

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There were questions late last season if LaFleur was coaching for his job. As the Packers faltered following Micah Parsons’ injury, speculation grew. That ultimately didn’t matter. Despite the Packers losing their last five games, including two blown leads to the Chicago Bears, LaFleur signed a multi-year extension in January.

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Still, if the Packers fail to make the playoffs this season, would LaFleur be on the hot seat? The fact that it’s even a topic says something about the lack of patience in the NFL.

Is Matt LaFleur on the hot seat?

Just because media and fans speculate on a successful coach being in trouble doesn’t mean he is. The Packers aren’t an impulsive organization. Despite the embarrassing losses to the Bears, which included blowing a 21-3 halftime lead in a wild-card round loss, Packers president Ed Policy said he never considered firing LaFleur.

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“Frankly, the fact that I was being asked, ‘Is firing him even an option at that point?’ I was a little bit shocked by that,” Packers president Ed Policy said.

That’s reasonable. LaFleur’s worst season in seven years as Packers coach is 8-9. He has made the playoffs six times in that stretch. He has had that success with two different quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. It hasn’t resulted in a Super Bowl appearance, but plenty of franchises would love to make the playoffs six times in seven seasons.

LaFleur has been successful. Just not successful enough to escape questions about his job security.

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LaFleur has had playoff disappointments

The NFL, on the whole, has become impatient. That’s why there are 10 new head coaches this season, which ties a league record. It is becoming increasingly rare for a coach to get three or more seasons if there’s not instant success. In reality, only a few head coaches aren’t on the hot seat. It seems all but the top tier are a bad season away from answering the same questions LaFleur was late last season. And LaFleur hasn’t even had a terrible season.

But LaFleur also hasn’t had a Super Bowl season. There have been memorable losses in the biggest moments. In LaFleur’s first three seasons the Packers were a No. 2 seed once and a No. 1 seed twice and didn’t make the Super Bowl in any of those seasons. There were heartbreaking losses late in playoff games against the 49ers three seasons ago and the Bears last season. The repeated disappointments have led to the criticisms. This season has challenges already too, with Parsons out for the first few games as he rehabs from his knee injury and Josh Jacobs being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list.

That’s life for an NFL head coach. By most measures LaFleur has won more often than not only most of his peers but most coaches through NFL history. But he also has stalled in the playoffs. A pair of brutal losses to the Packers’ archrival from Chicago didn’t slow down the angst toward him.

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In another era, there would never be a question about LaFleur’s job security. He would have bought himself at least enough job security to survive a non-playoff season or two. This NFL is unforgiving. That’s how you go from winning nearly two-thirds of your games to open speculation that you’re on the hot seat.