'Develop from Within' Not Just for Players

                There was a big of a shake-up amongst the Packers’ offensive coaching staff this season, touched off primarily by the hiring of former offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Philbin was with the Packers organization for a total of nine years, and spent five of those years as offensive coordinator. As one of only a few holdovers from the Mike Sherman era, Philbin’s talent must have been evident to Mike McCarthy, as the Chief of Staff not only kept him in Green Bay, but also promoted him to arguably the second most important job on the coaching staff. Following the tragic death of Philbin’s young son at the end of the regular season, he was likely in need of a fresh start. It was not long after that he accepted the top position in Miami, and McCarthy had some decisions to make. It seems as though Ted Thompson’s draft and develop philosophy has rubbed off on McCarthy, who restructured his staff almost entirely from within the Packers’ organization.

                Former quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was promoted to offensive coordinator, a position he originally interviewed for in 2006. Clements has been with the staff since leaving the offensive coordinator position in Buffalo in 2005, and has coached in the NFL since 1997. He’s a former NCAA national championship quarterback (Notre Dame – 1973) and compiled some impressive stats while playing in the Canadian Football League. Clements showed his intellectual ability by attaining a law degree while playing professionally in Canada, and even practiced law in Chicago for a few years before returning to coaching. Although McCarthy calls his own plays on game days, he does lean heavily on his coordinator for game planning. Said McCarthy, ‘Tom has been an integral part of our success and our staff, making it an obvious decision to promote him to offensive coordinator. He has earned this opportunity.’ Aaron Rodgers has been outspoken about his relationship with Clements as well, repeatedly stating his desire to keep the coach in Green Bay, and calling him a mentor as well as a personal friend. Clements had interviewed for multiple head coaching opportunities before accepting the coordinator position in Green Bay, including openings at Miami and Penn State (yeesh). Said Rodgers with regard to his potential return, “I’m feeling a little selfish when it comes to Tom. I have a real good relationship with him. It’s been a real good six years together. I want to keep it going. I think Tom deserves to take a jump though. I think it would be a seamless transition to have him as the offensive coordinator in Green Bay.” It seems safe to say that damn near everyone in Green Bay is feeling good about this promotion.

                Clements’ promotion of course left a hole in the staff at QB coach, which is an important job to say the least. This is the main problem with promoting from within, in that when you fill one hole, you create another. The chain of events in filling each hole and each subsequent promotion is borderline comical, but shows a serious dedication on the part of Mike McCarthy to help develop his coaching staff and give them opportunities to succeed. McCarthy genuinely wants his coaches to accomplish their career goals, even if those goals are achieved outside of Green Bay, as in the case of Philbin. Tight ends coach Ben McAdoo was promoted to quaterbacks coach, Jerry Fontenot was shifted from running backs coach to tight ends coach, Joel Hilgenberg was promoted from coaching intern to assistant offensive line coach, and two outside coaches were hired to fill in the remaining gaps. As I said, the coaching carousel is borderline comical, but shows a true commitment to comprehensive coaching development.

                This relatively major shake-up follows the pattern adhered to when wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson left the club last year to take a similar position with the Dallas Cowboys that also carried an ‘assistant head coach’ designation. Former Packers running back Edgar Bennett was moved from running backs coach (the obvious fit) to wide receivers coach. Although one might instinctively question why a running back is coaching wide receivers, all parties involved made it clear that the job change was made with an eye towards comprehensive coaching development, as opposed to narrow-minded pigeon holing of employees. It makes great sense to me that a successful running backs coach could use not only his instructional expertise, but also knowledge of a different but closely intertwined position to hone the finer points with the players he now coaches.

                Although most of these moves may seem lateral as opposed to upwardly moving, they’re indicative of a culture not often enough seen in major companies these days. McCarthy is essentially saying to his coaches, ‘I thought enough of you to hire you, you’ve done a good job, now show me that you’re capable of more.’ I love that approach to managing your staff, and I’m of the opinion that Bennett did just fine with the wide receivers last year. Let’s see if this year’s staff is up to the challenge. My only other question would be where do I apply for that coaching intern program? I’m slowly accepting the fact that I probably don’t have quite enough arm strength to make the roster.