Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson are widely viewed as having “beef” mainly because of a pointed comment Johnson made and how that has played into the already- heated Bears–Packers rivalry, not because of any known deep personal incident.

What actually happened

  • When Ben Johnson was introduced as Bears head coach in early 2025, he joked that he “kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year” from his time as Lions offensive coordinator, delivering the line with a smirk and clear awareness it would land as a jab.
  • He contrasted that remark with much warmer praise for other NFC North coaches like Dan Campbell and Kevin O’Connell, which made the LaFleur comment stand out as unusually personal.

Why people say they have “beef”

  • NFL reporter Peter Schrager has said LaFleur and Johnson are “not pals” and don’t have a shared history, so the jab did not come from a long-standing friendship or inside-joke dynamic.
  • The Bears–Packers rivalry plus Johnson’s public shot created a narrative that there is extra tension there, especially once media and fans framed it as “Ben Johnson vs. Matt LaFleur” rather than just Bears vs. Packers.

How LaFleur has reacted

  • Publicly, LaFleur has mostly downplayed it, giving short answers like that he hasn’t thought much about Johnson’s comments and that he is focused on results, not trash talk.
  • Reports have said he was “shocked” and did not really know Johnson when the original remark surfaced, which added to the sense that the line rubbed him the wrong way even if he won’t escalate it in front of cameras.

The icy handshakes and viral moments

  • After a Bears wild-card win over the Packers in January 2026, cameras caught a very quick, cold handshake: LaFleur stone-faced, Johnson rushing past with a brief shake, which fueled social media takes that the bad blood is real.
  • Johnson has also been caught on mic leaning into the rivalry with messages like “Forget the Packers!” in postgame addresses, which matches the trash-talk tone and keeps the storyline hot.

So, do they truly “hate” each other?

  • There is no reported specific incident—no past firing, betrayal, or personal feud—behind the “beef”; the roots that are known are basically that one public jab plus competitive games layered on top of a historic rivalry.
  • Most analysts frame it as a mix of rivalry marketing, Johnson’s personality and willingness to needle a division opponent, and LaFleur’s annoyance at being targeted, rather than some deep off-field drama.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.