How Aaron Rodgers trade rumors nearly damaged Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan's relationship 

In the offseason, Aaron Rodgers' drama caused tension to grow between Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur. The two head coaches go way back as they cut their teeth in Washington before working together in Atlanta on the offensive side.

The two head coaches' teams take each other on in a big NFC clash in Week 3. As always, with the two coaches linked together, the spotlight will shine on Shanahan and LaFleur.

Is there still tension lingering between Shanahan and LaFleur?

The offseason tension kicked off because Aaron Rodgers wanted to leave the Green Bay Packers. The legendary quarterback is a born-and-raised 49ers fan. The team opted not to draft him in 2005, and many pundits have constantly linked the 49ers and Rodgers together.

The 49ers were in queue position number one to land Rodgers. Shanahan wanted a quarterback in the offseason, which is why the Niners traded up to third overall. Some experts felt they might package the pick with Jimmy Garoppolo to land Rodgers.

The 49ers and Shanahan played a brazen PR game in their attempts to woo Rodgers back to California. LaFleur was frustrated, and an offhand comment made towards Shanahan caused the tensions to bubble.

To add more intrigue to the plot, Lafleur's brother and Shanahan's defensive coordinator were now at the Jets, who held the second overall pick. Matt Lafleur felt that his close friends and family were openly aiming to pull something over the draft weekend in an attempt to take Rodgers away from the Packers.

In the end, nothing materialized, and Rodgers returned to the Packers, albeit feeling very unhappy. Shanahan got his quarterback as the Niners drafted Trey Lance, and the Jets got Zach Wilson.

At his press conference on Thursday, LaFleur moved to dispel any idea of a rift between himself and Coach Shanahan:

"Kyle's a great friend of mine, absolutely. I hold no ill will toward him. I understand. He's trying to do whatever he thinks he needs to do for his football team. He's got a responsibility to everybody in that organization, and if there's an opportunity, I don't hold that against him. So, yeah, that will not affect our relationship."

Tensions may have simmered, but both coaches are competitors. Shanahan and LaFleur will only focus on winning the game on Sunday night. It's something they've become used to over the last three years, and neither coach wants that winning feeling to disappear.