Before Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers took on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, news broke out over the weekend that the LSU Tigers football program had fired head coach Brian Kelly, effectively ending an era in Baton Rouge.
Kelly was handed his walking papers after the Tigers suffered their third loss of the 2025 season and second in a row, which was a 49-25 defeat at the hands of the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies.
As the internet dealt with the aftermath of LSU’s sacking of Kelly, one story from way back in the early 2000s resurfaced, involving Kelly, LaFleur and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
It’s a story from a piece written by Rob Demovsky of ESPN in 2019, which featured an anecdote about that time when LaFleur and Saleh were still graduate assistants under Kelly at Central Michigan.
The social media account of Drunk Matt Prater on X, formerly Twitter, posted a screenshot of the story following LSU’s decision on Kelly’s future with the Tigers, which immediately went viral.
Matt LaFleur story during time at Central Michigan resurfaces after LSU’s Kelly firing
Oct 19, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur leaves the field after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Here’s the excerpt from Demovsky’s ESPN story:
On a winter night in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Matt LaFleur and Robert Saleh thought they were invited to a party at the home of their boss, Central Michigan University football coach Brian Kelly.
Turns out, they weren’t on the guest list.
They were on the worker list.
“We shoveled the snow and parked all the cars,” Saleh said. “Then, at the end of the night, we had to go get the cars again.”
And then they went back to the tiny apartment they shared as graduate assistants and stood around their kitchen table — the one without any chairs.
“We decided that when we’re in that position, we’re never going to treat people the way we got treated,” said Saleh, now the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator. “And Matty’s lived up to it.”
LaFleur and Saleh eventually found their way into the pros and found success in their respective paths. While LaFleur has yet to win a Super Bowl, he’s at the helm of a perennial NFL playoff contender.
Green Bay is also doing very fine these days, with the Packers widely viewed as among the favorites to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) in congratulated by head coach Matt LaFleur after throwing a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter of their game Thursday, September 11, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers beat the Washington Commanders 27-18
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