Tom Clements Reveals Why He Returned to Packers After Flirting With Retirement

Packers fans know by now that quarterbacks coach Tom Clements is a big reason why Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love have found so much success.

And it says a lot about the current state of the Packers as to why Clements had little hesitation in committing to another season despite being 70 years old.

“"I'm at the point where it's year to year,” Clements told reporters this offseason. “The way we ended (the season), it really wasn't that tough of a process to decide to come back."

This is huge news for Green Bay fans because Love isn’t yet a completely polished NFL starter, but he could be soon. 

Love Took a Dramatic Step Forward Under Clements

Many NFL fans were calling Jordan Love a bust midway through last season when the Packers were 3-6 and struggling to score – throwing for 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

But Love turned it on in the second half of the season, throwing for 18 touchdowns and just one interception as the team finished the season on a 6-2 run. 

And it’s not as if Love suddenly became more talented midway through the season. 

Clements gave a ton of credit to Love for making improvements last season, but it’s plain to see that the QB coach was a major factor. 

“His decision-making in split-second situations,” Clements told reporters late last season when asked where Love has improved the most.

"Every quarterback that has a good arm, which Jordan does, likes to throw downfield, but sometimes you’ve got to recognize that throwing downfield isn’t the best option on a particular play."

- Tom Clements on Jordan Love

Clements’s first stint in Green Bay was from 2006-16, and letting him go was clearly a mistake.

He was hired as the quarterbacks coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and helped an undersized Kyler Murray win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and we all know what’s happened to Murray and the Cardinals since Clements briefly retired in 2021.

Bringing Clements back to Green Bay might go down as one of the best moves made by head coach Matt LeFleur, and it’s clear he’s pleased with how it’s worked out.

"I would say that, just in terms of our conversations over the last couple of years, and how much he credits Tom for his development, it was very intriguing when we had an opportunity," LaFleur said right after hiring Clements.

"I got an opportunity to go out and meet with him prior to the Super Bowl, really sit down and had lunch with him. I think we interviewed each other, to some level, but just the conversations we had, it's pretty easy for me to see why he is such a great quarterback coach and developer, he's such a great communicator, he's got such a great even-keeled demeanor."

- Matt LaFleur on Tom Clements

It doesn’t take an NFL expert to see that Clements returning means he thinks he’s found a winner in Love, and that should give Packers fans good reason to get excited for a big step forward for their team this fall. 

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