Packers coach Matt LaFleur to face off against Cardinals' Mike LaFleur at joint practice

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur had his tongue firmly planted in cheek as he discussed how he would make sure his players avoid fights in their joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals.

“If there’s an issue, I’m going to tell the guys, ‘Hey, you come tag me in. They can tag in my brother. And we’ll throw down on the 50,’” LaFleur joked on Monday.

Wednesday’s joint practice at Green Bay will mark the first time the LaFleur brothers have coached against each other since Mike LaFleur was hired as the Cardinals’ coach. They’ll also meet Friday in a preseason game at Lambeau Field.

Matt LaFleur was asked about his parents’ potential divided loyalties this week.

“They’ll probably look like a Christmas tree — green and red,” he said.

The LaFleurs have been on opposing sidelines plenty of times, including when the New York Jets had joint practices with the Packers at Green Bay in 2021. Mike LaFleur was an offensive coordinator with the Jets from 2021-22 and Los Angeles Rams from 2023-25.

Now, they're both head coaches.

Mike LaFleur said the desire to have a joint practice in Green Bay wasn’t necessarily because of the family ties. He just wanted cooler weather than the Cardinals get in Arizona.

“If we could have gone to Seattle to go against them, that would be great,” he said. “Well, they’re in our division, so we’re not going to Seattle. There’s no team in Canada yet. And you’d rather not go all the way out to Buffalo, just from a travel standpoint. So you think about that next closest team to get you out of the heat, it really is Green Bay.”

The 39-year-old Mike LaFleur said he also spoke with the Minnesota Vikings shortly after Arizona hired him, but they already had scheduled their joint practices.

He appreciates the opportunity to work out in a town with Green Bay’s football tradition. The Cardinals plan to ride bicycles from their locker room to the practice field while accompanied by children, just as the Packers do each day during training camp.

“There’s a ton of fans there,” Mike LaFleur said. “I mean, it’s Green Bay. What else are you going to do?”

Both coaches said there are advantages to facing each other because of the trust that exists between them.

Matt LaFleur, who is 46, noted that the Packers conducted joint practices with Houston in 2019 and were careful about what they showed because the Texans’ staff included John Pagano, the brother of then-Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

“But I think when it comes to this situation, I don’t have any hesitation or reservations,” the Packers coach said.

Those family ties also should assure that each staff delivers similar warnings to their teams this week as fighting in joint practices comes under scrutiny.

The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were each fined $500,000 by the NFL last week after their joint practice featured a series of brawls.

“You do want to send the same message to both teams,” Mike LaFleur said. “Let’s call it what it is. These joint practices, flip a coin on what could happen sometimes. Obviously we know the ramifications now, what the league can do as well. I do think that will change some people’s opinions on what the code of conduct should be.

“It’s been good. We’re on the same page with how we’re going to conduct this thing.”

And what did Mike LaFleur think about his older brother’s challenge to square off at midfield if things get out of hand?

“We’ll see what happens,” the Cardinals coach quipped.

Matt LaFleur said DT Warren Brinson will “miss a little bit of time” after tweaking his calf in pregame warmups Friday. The injury prevented Brinson from playing at Denver. … Packers CB Brandon Cisse practiced Monday after a knee issue forced the rookie second-round pick to leave the Broncos game.

AP Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this report.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur stands on the sideline in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur reacts to play against the Dallas Cowboys in the second half of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur responds to a question during a news conference after the team's preseason NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur looks toward the field against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur responds to a question during a news conference after an NFL preseason football game against the Denver Broncos Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Monday in a case over President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections.

The decision appears to leave room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, including in another similar case. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.

The Supreme Court's three liberal-leaning justices dissented from the unsigned order.

Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, who has claimed that it breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and his own use of the voting method.

The case could be one of multiple voting-related challenges before the justices. The Justice Department had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow work on implementing the changes before the midterms.

Trump's executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and Trump’s changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.

“The consequences of allowing such transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall’s elections would be extreme,” attorneys for the states wrote. Dozens of state and local election officials weighed in, asking the justices to leave the order frozen while election preparations are already underway.

A judge in Massachusetts blocked the plan for the midterm elections in those states. An appeals court upheld her decision. She later granted a second order blocking it nationwide, another potential stumbling block for Trump administration plan.

The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds in late July, arguing that the states sued too soon. They also pointed to another ruling out of Washington, where a judge allowed Trump’s order to proceed. An appeals court backed that decision, while still leaving room for future court action if the changes are implemented.

Federal attorneys argued that the Massachusetts order “blocks the government’s ability to finalize and implement the President’s proposed policies to promote election integrity for the upcoming federal elections in November.”

A dozen Republican-leaning states supported the federal government in their own appeal before the high court, saying states would have input on the final voter lists.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled against Trump-backed arguments on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day. That case was decided after full briefing and arguments, rather than on the court’s emergency docket.

Trump has blamed mail voting — without credible evidence — for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting.

He’s also repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.

An election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

An election worker places a vote-by-mail ballot into a secure bin at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office during the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)