After enduring one of the most heartbreaking losses in NFL playoff history, the Green Bay Packers have announced major changes to the coaching staff. Most significantly, head coach Mike McCarthy has relinquished play-calling responsibilities to top assistant Tom Clements.
Packers announce major coaching staff changes
Head coach Mike McCarthy has handed over the reins to the league’s top offense.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Since joining the team in 2006, McCarthy has piloted the Green Bay offense. That unit has consistently performed at a high level, including No. 1 finishes in points scored in 2011 and 2014. Not coincidentally, both of those seasons saw quarterback Aaron Rodgers win Most Valuable Player honors. The team even finished top 10 in scoring during the 2013 season when Rodgers missed roughly half the year with a broken collarbone.
Still, with play calling consuming McCarthy's attention on game days, other aspects of game management have become issues. Incidents like McCarthy's illegal challenge of a fumble in 2012 have become more commonplace. After the 2015 NFC title game, McCarthy admitted he was unaware why star linebacker Clay Matthews missed the final defensive series of regulation. He also made multiple ill-advised decisions on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line that allowed the Seattle Seahawks to stay in the game.
In pursuit of solving those issues, McCarthy had decided to hand off the offensive play-calling duties to Clements. Clements joined the team the same year as McCarthy and has worked closely with Rodgers throughout his tenure. Along with calling plays, Clements receives the new title of associate head coach/offense.
The team has also promoted wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett to Clements' old position of offensive coordinator. Bennett has coached in Green Bay since 2005, and has steadily moved up the ranks. Still, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that McCarthy chose to promote Bennett over quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Alex Van Pelt, an assistant who has garnered significant interest from other teams, most recently from the St. Louis Rams. With Van Pelt's contract expiring after the 2015 season, he'll be free to interview for any position without seeking the team's permission à la Ben McAdoo a year earlier. As such, McCarthy has essentially declared his preference to keep Bennett over Van Pelt long term.
The Packers have also added former San Francisco 49ers assistant Mike Solari to the staff as assistant offensive line coach. Solari brings 28 years of NFL coaching experience to Green Bay, most spent coaching the offensive line. He replaces Steve Marshall who left earlier this offseason for a position with the New York Jets.
Changes are also coming to the defensive staff. The Packers have hired Oklahoma assistant Jerry Montgomery to assist the defense, with the official title of defensive front assistant. Montgomery, a defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator with the Sooners, is considered an up-and-coming coaching prospect. He will coach the defensive line under Mike Trgovac. Green Bay also interviewed Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda for the position.
Green Bay also announced a few changes to the special teams crew. Ron Zook is promoted to special teams coordinator, and Jason Simmons will be the assistant special teams coach.
But while the new assistants will play a major factor in determining how the Packers' 2015 season plays out, everything comes down to how McCarthy adjusts to his new role. He'll need to make sure the offense doesn't slip with someone else at the helm while also becoming more involved with the other phases of the team. If he's successful, Green Bay may indeed return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010 season.
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