Green Bay Packers Coaching Staff to Undergo Changes as well

As I wrote recently, there are a lot of potential changes coming to the Green Bay Packers roster this offseason. However, it’s not only the roster that may be experiencing some turnover but the coaching staff as well.

For starters, the Packers are going to need a new offensive coordinator. It wasn’t really a matter of if  Nathaniel Hackett was going to get a head coaching gig this offseason, but rather where—and we now know that place is Denver.

This could be the first of several changes to the Green Bay Packers coaching staff.

Although Matt LaFleur is the one calling plays for the Green Bay Packers, Hackett played an important role in creating the game plan each week for an offense that finished top-10 in points per game in each of the last two seasons — including first in 2020 — and top-3 in DVOA during that span as well.

One specific role that Hackett had was dialing up the red zone play calls each week. In 2019, the Green Bay Packers had the second highest red zone touchdown rate, while in 2020, they led the NFL in that category with an absurd 80 percent success rate.

Losing Hackett, of course, creates an opening at offensive coordinator that needs to be filled. In terms of replacements, LaFleur told reporters on Monday that Green Bay would promote from within, and I think it’s safe to assume that QB coach & passing game coordinator Luke Getsy along with offensive line coach Adam Stenavich are the two candidates.

I also think it’s safe to make the assumption that whichever candidate does not end up as the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator will end up with Hackett in Denver in that role. As of now, it would appear that Stenavich is the one on his way out, as the Broncos have requested to interview him for that job opening.

Whether it be through an internal promotion, heading to Denver, or who knows, possibly elsewhere, both Getsy and Stenavich are in line for job upgrades, which for the Packers means they’ll also have to find a new QB Coach as well as a new offensive line coach.

If Stenavich does in fact head to Denver, replacing him will be a tall task. He has cultivated one of the best and deepest offensive line units in football. When fully healthy as they were for most of 2020, the Green Bay Packers offensive line was the most dominant group in football by several metrics, regardless of whether you were looking at PFF or ESPN.

This season, with numerous injuries and movement, this group had their depth on display as they utilized seven different offensive line configurations over the course of the season. Yet even so, by ESPN’s pass-block and run-block win rate metrics, Green Bay finished in the top-5 in both categories. With some help, Aaron Rodgers often had the time he needed in the pocket while the run game was still effective enough.

Of course, the players deserve the most credit, but we can’t talk about the Green Bay Packers offensive line without mentioning Stenavich. My guess is that assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus would be the favorite to replace him—which then creates another job opening at assistant offensive line coach.

As far as Getsy’s replacement as QB coach & passing game coordinator, your guess is as good as mine. There may also be other coaching openings that pop up depending on whether Hackett takes anyone else to Denver with him.

In addition to these moves that have to be made as a result of losing Hackett, I imagine that the Packers will be looking for their third special teams coach in as many seasons as well.

From Week 1 through the Divisional Round, this group produced costly mistakes on a weekly basis, and ultimately, that played a major role in Green Bay’s early playoff exit. The Packers finished the regular season ranked 32nd in special teams play, although we didn’t exactly need rankings to tell us that.

There have been no confirmed reports that Maurice Drayton is out of a job, but I think it’s safe to operate under the assumption that it’ll happen at some time. And who knows, maybe Green Bay finds a new special teams assistant as well.

So to put a bow on all of this, there’s a real possibility that LaFleur ends up needing to find a new offensive coordinator, QB coach, passing game coordinator, offensive line coach, assistant offensive line coach, a special teams coordinator, as well as possibly an assistant special teams coordinator.

As we discussed, a few of these roles will likely be filled internally and a few of the openings are dependent upon promotions, but all could have to be filled at some point.

The good news is that outside of the special teams unit, LaFleur has a good track record of bringing in quality assistant coaches. We will wait and see how everything plays out, but it’s not only the roster that will be undergoing changes this offseason.