Mike McCarthy's New Year's Resolution Is To Fire All His Assistant Coaches

The Green Bay Packers formally announced yesterday what was reported everywhere on Sunday and Monday - DC Dom Capers has been fired, along with DL coach Mike Trogvac and ILB coach Scott McCurley.

#Packers announce that DC Dom Capers,ILBs coach Scott McCurley and DT coach Mike Trgovac have been fired. No mention of Bennett or Van Pelt.

— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) January 3, 2018

Then it was reported from multiple sources that QB coach Alex Van Pelt would not return and OC Edgar Bennett would no longer be the offensive coordinator, though Bennett remains under contract.

So Mike McCarthy survives but the #packers completely overhaul everything above and below him? Interesting.🤔

— Mike Tanier 📎 (@MikeTanier) January 3, 2018

For a conservative organization that usually makes few changes in the offseason, this is an amazing turn of events. It's also odd considering the player contract extensions handed out the week before. Right before the front office and coaching staff is undergoing a complete overall, they took steps to bring back the same players for next season.

The #Packers saved about $6 million in future cap charges by getting the Davante Adams and Corey Linsley deals done in December. https://t.co/gyGfHn9R6x

— Packers News (@PGPackersNews) January 3, 2018

Adams was their best receiver last season and it makes a lot of sense to bring him back despite already having two other high priced receivers on the roster (Cobb, Nelson). The Packers have the cap room. Linsley probably had his worst season as a pro in 2017 which probably not coincidentally was his first season not playing alongside either Sitton or Lang at guard. He did get better throughout the season though.

As for Van Pelt, he was originally hired in 2012, seemingly at the request of Aaron Rodgers, as a coach with prior NFL QB experience though he wasn't officially his QB coach until a couple years later. Unlike most NFL OC, the job requirements in Green Bay aren't exactly clear, because on game day it's Mike McCarthy calling the plays. I've always thought the OC got the offense ready to play their next opponent during the week leading up to the game with few duties during the game itself. Van Pelt was usually seen on camera during games sitting next to Hundley with a tablet showing him what he just missed on his previous 3rd down incompletion.

Brett Hundley 3rd Down Passer Ratings...

Week 7 vs. NOR - 14.3 QB Rating
Week 16 vs. MIN - 14.6 QB Rating
Week 17 vs DET - 12.5 QB Rating

3rd Down Passing - 1st Down %

- Kizer 32.1%
- Hoyer 31.7%
- Hundley 31.0%
- Cutler 30.0%

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) January 1, 2018

No matter what QB statistical list you pull up for 2017, it's likely you'll find Hundley at the bottom of it. I think his worst stat of the season was being the starting QB for two home shutouts. It looks terrible in hindsight that in response to a question about Colin Kaepernick, Mike McCarthy went off on a rant about the three years he spent developing Brett Hundley. That's not to digress about whether the Packers should have signed Kaepernick, it's a look back at how very wrong him and his coaches were about Hundley and why two of them probably lost their jobs because of it.

These should not be difficult jobs to fill. Any ambitious coach looking to rise the coaching ladder would love to have "worked with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay" on his resume. The offense with Rodgers has been mostly great over the past two seasons, but it's also lacked any of the new innovations that other offenses have been trying in recent years. Bringing in a new coach or two from the outside with a new perspective could be a big help.

Also, improving the backup QB position is probably high up on the to-do list this offseason. There's little financial cost to bring Hundley back for the final season under his rookie contract, while also drafting/signing an undrafted rookie free agent to develop behind him. Based on the results from last season, it would be a good idea to let an unbiased eye spend a year with Hundley in 2018 to see what can be done with him.

Packers deny Rams' request to interview Van Pelt

The Packers have a denied a request by the Rams to interview team quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde reports. 

Van Pelt, who served as Green Bay's running backs coach for two seasons before changing jobs last year, is currently a candidate for St. Louis' open Offensive Coordinator position, according to Wilde.

Still, this doesn't mean Van Pelt's out of the running by any means, as the Giants were also denied the right to interview then-Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo last offseason before hiring him later. 

Expect more to come of this story in the near future. 

Flynn/Tolzein Competition To Go Through The Final Preseason Game

The competition for the Packers' backup QB job between Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzein will go through the team's final preseason game, QB Coach Alex Van Pelt recently told ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. 

"I would think that would be the fair way to do it," Van Pelt said this week. 

In Green Bay's first two exhibition contests, as you probably already know, both of their possible arms have looked pretty good, likely meaning this decision will be hard to make two weeks from now.

Nonetheless, since a pair of contests do currently remain on the exhibition schedule a lot can obviously happen before actual play begins, with this Friday's hosting of the Raiders beginning what should be a very entertaining seven day period.

Packers Assistant OL Coach Joel Hilgenberg resigns

Packers Assistant OL Coach Joel Hilgenberg has resigned from his position after 3 years with the team, ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde reports. Hilgenberg has been with Green Bay since the 2011 season, when he served as the club's offensive quality control coach before being promoted to Assistant OL in 2012.

As reason for his sudden leaving, Hildenberg simply said he wishes to spend more time with his family, the same thing that made LB Coach Kevin Greene walk back in January. 

“I feel that it is more important now that I have more time to spend with my wife and daughter," Hilgenberg said in a statement released by the team Friday. "I will miss all of the great people in the Packers organization that I have come to know, and I wish everyone the very best in the future.”

As of now, who exactly will replace Hilgenberg is unknown, although TE Coach Jerry Fontenot, who was a Center during his 16 year NFL career, is definitely someone to think about. That's just a possibility, but still, its happening definitely wouldn't be surprising, especially since just about everyone else on the staff (Alex Van Pelt, Winston Moss, Scott McCurley) seems to be pretty settled into their current position. 

(Quote and info courtesy of ESPN Wisconsin)

Packers QB Coach Van Pelt appears to want Matt Flynn back

In an article recently published by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, recently-promoted Packers QB Coach Alex Van Pelt was quoted saying some obviously positive things about now free agent Matt Flynn. 

“The way he fits in the locker room, especially in the quarterback room," Van Pelt said. "The things he does to get Aaron ready to play on Sundays are little things that are hidden sometimes when you're looking at guys, so I'm excited to hopefully get him back in there.”

So yea Thompson, you hear him: sign Flynn again. Sure, he might not be great, but I can guarantee you he'll be a hell of a lot better than Scott Tolzein. 

Packers hire Texas Tech assistant David Raih onto coaching staff

The Packers, following last week's hirings of Ron Zook and Sam Gash, apparently added yet another piece to their 2014 coaching staff this weekend, hiring Texas Tech Outside Receivers coach David Raih as an offensive assistant, PackersNews.com reports. As of now, the exact position Raih has been hired to is still a mystery, although it is expected to be announced sometime this week. 

From 1999 to 2003, Raih was the backup QB of the University of Iowa's football team, so it's definitely possible that his new position could involve working with the team's recently-promoted QBs coach: Alex Van Pelt. There's no evidence to support that statement, but, like I just said, it's definitely possible. 

Packers RBs coach Van Pelt to stay with team as QBs coach

Now that Ben McAdoo is officially gone, the Packers have decided to name their Running Backs coach of one year, Alex Van Pelt, their new QBs coach, NBCSports.com reports. Van Pelt played the position with the Bills from 1994-2003, so it's likely that he'll know what he's doing when the season comes around. 

Really, this is kinda surprising, since it was recently reported by multiple sources that, if the Browns hired Mike Pettine as their head coach, which they did yesterday, Van Pelt would likely becomes their OC, but I guess the two sides' plans must've changed. Because obviously, that's not happening anymore.