The Philadelphia Eagles have had the Green Bay Packers' number recently. They've beaten head coach Matt LaFleur's team four times in a row and five of the last six times. As such, anything bad that happens to the NFC East side will be a reason to cheer in Wisconsin.
With that in mind, Packers fans must be ecstatic to know that Jeff Stoutland is leaving the City of Brotherly Love. After 13 years, the legendary offensive line coach and run game coordinator is finally leaving town due to a disagreement with how the Eagles' coaching situation is unfolding.
"Stoutland was not consulted about the changes to what he felt was an appropriate degree, a league source said, to the point where he no longer desired the title of run game coordinator because he felt it no longer fit his job description."Tim McManus, ESPN
The Packers already have an offensive line coach in Luke Butkus, but there's always room for improvement in the trenches. That's why it might be in Green Bay's interest to take advantage of Philadelphia's blunder.
Packers Will Benefit From Jeff Stoutland's Departure
The Packers' offensive line was borderline atrocious last season. Granted, some of that had to do with injuries, but moves like having Jordan Morgan at tackle and moving Elgton Jenkins to center were obviously going to backfire.
Butkus isn't a bad coach by any means. With him at the helm, the Packers gave up the second-fewest sacks in the league in the past three seasons (84), including just 22 in 2024. They're also No. 4 in sack percentage at just 4.9 percent. That said, things went south this season, and the running game struggled mightily as a result, averaging just 119.8 rushing yards per game (No. 15).
Firing Butkus wouldn't make that much sense under regular circumstances, but it's not very often that a coach of Stoutland's caliber becomes available. He's spent over a decade coaching top blockers like Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, and Lane Johnson, and that's without mentioning his two Super Bowl rings.
Still, even if the Packers don't make a run at Stoutland, just watching him leave Philadelphia is a big win for the entire NFC.
The Eagles have one of the most stacked rosters in the entire league. Their massive and hard-hitting offensive line has played a huge role in their recent success, and while the referees have also given them plenty of help with the 'Tush Push,' Stoutland's hard work simply cannot go unnoticed.
The Packers are on the verge of Super Bowl contention. They just need to make a couple of tweaks and hope that the defense won't regress with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon taking the reins of the recently departed Jeff Hafley.
The Eagles won't be able to find a suitable replacement this deep into the offseason. This is the type of loss that can silently make a team regress tremendously. And with one fewer opponent in contention, the Packers might be a little closer to the Vince Lombardi trophy now.