Mike Smith Leaving, Green Bay Packers Need New OLB Coach

The offseason isn’t that old, but it has been filled with a lot of turnover on the Green Bay Packers coaching staff–all of which up to this point had taken place on the offensive side of the ball or on special teams.

Shortly after it was made official that the Packers had hired Tom Clements to be their QB coach, which was the last coaching vacancy to fill, by the way, Rob Demovsky of ESPN would report that OLB coach Mike Smith is leaving the Packers to “pursue other opportunities.”

Smith had been with the Green Bay Packers the last three seasons as their OLB coach and played a role in the development of Rashan Gary as well as the success that both Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith had in Green Bay.

Since Day 1, Smith has been Gary’s biggest fan and advocate, oftentimes praising Gary for his work ethic and pass-rush abilities. This past season, Gary would record the second-most pressures among all edge rushers in the NFL and the most sacks on the Packers team.

In terms of pressures and sacks, Preston Smith would have two of the most productive years of his career under Mike Smith and with the Green Bay Packers in 2019 and 2021. In 2021 specifically, he would record the 10th most pressures among edge rushers, according to PFF ($$).

The same can be said for Za’Darius Smith, who had a career year in 2019, leading all edge rushers in pressures, and he was also named a second-team All-Pro in 2020.

However, now the Green Bay Packers will be tasked with finding a new OLB coach, and replacing Smith won’t be an easy task. As for Smith, as Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV mentioned, a potential landing spot could be Minnesota, where he would reunite with Mike Pettine–who Smith is close with and who he coached under in 2019, his first season with Green Bay.

UPDATE: The Green Bay Packers will add Jason Rebrovich to the coaching staff as OLB coach to replace Mike Smith.