Packers hiring Titans coordinator Matt LaFleur as head coach - USA TODAY

Jim Owczarski and Tom Silverstein USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Published 6:36 PM EST Jan 7, 2019

GREEN BAY - In a search that lasted for more than a month, the Green Bay Packers have found their next head coach.

Matt LaFleur, 39, is set to become the 15th head coach for the franchise, people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Network. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced and the Packers were still working on a deal to make LaFleur their coach.

ESPN was the first to report the news.

The Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator interviewed initially on Sunday.

LaFleur just concluded his first year as the Titans' offensive coordinator after hold the same title in 2017 under Sean McVay for the Los Angeles Rams. Tennessee finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs, ending the year No. 25 in total offense and No. 27 in scoring. The Titans were 29th in passing with quarterback Marcus Mariota but seventh in the league in rushing.,

In 2017 in L.A., the Rams finished eighth in the league in rushing to go with the No. 10 passing attack in football.

The Michigan native worked in Atlanta under Kyle Shanahan, now the San Francisco 49ers head coach, as the Falcons' quarterbacks coach. Matt Ryan won the Most Valuable Player award in 2016 and advanced to the Super Bowl.

LaFleur broke into the league in 2008 with Shanahan in Houston. He then followed Shanahan to Washington before moving on to Atlanta.

LaFleur is the first head coach with no previous ties to the organization to be hired since Mike Holmgren in 1992.

Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy fired Mike McCarthy on Dec. 2 after a stunning loss to the Arizona Cardinals to give the organization a head start on filling what was one of eight total head-coaching vacancies around the NFL. The club interviewed at least 11 candidates, the bulk of which had offensive backgrounds and previous head-coaching experience.

Interim head coach Joe Philbin directed the team over the final four games of the regular season and interviewed for the full-time position after going 2-2. The Packers finished third in the NFC North with a 6-9-1 record, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

The last time the Packers looked for a head coach, Ted Thompson was the general manager and he moved relatively quickly. Thompson settled on McCarthy, then the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator, just 10 days after the firing of Mike Sherman on Jan. 2, 2006.

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