The idea of Packers general manager Ted Thompson taking a lesser role has come up, but it doesn’t appear it’s going to happen this offseason. Thompson is “not going anywhere,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters, including Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin, on Thursday (Twitter link). The 64-year-old Thompson, who McCarthy acknowledged is “not the youngest cat anymore,” has been the GM in Green Bay since 2005. The team has made nine playoff trips, including eight in a row, and won a Super Bowl during Thompson’s 12-year run.
More from Green Bay, whose season ended with a 44-21 NFC title game loss in Atlanta last Sunday:
- Tom Clements, who had been a member of the Packers’ coaching staff since 2006, was on an expiring contract this season and “is going to move on to some other interests,” according to McCarthy (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). “That will be the one change to our staff,” commented McCarthy. Clements last worked as an associate head coach and had previously been Green Bay’s offensive coordinator, but McCarthy took play-calling duties from him in December 2015.
- After a stunningly effective 2016 as a running back, Ty Montgomery will remain at the position going forward, McCarthy revealed (Twitter link via Wilde). “He’s a running back. He wants to change his number, and that’s the way we’re going,” McCarthy said of Montgomery, a former wide receiver who currently wears No. 88. Montgomery broke out in earnest as a rusher with a nine-carry, 60-yard showing against the Bears in Week 6, and the 24-year-old ultimately totaled 457 yards and three touchdowns on 77 attempts (a healthy 5.9 YPC).
- Eddie Lacy‘s injury issues were a key reason why the Pack turned to Montgomery out of the backfield in the first place. Lacy, who only played in five games this season before ankle surgery forced him to injured reserve in late October, is scheduled to become a free agent in March. That means the four-year veteran could be done in Green Bay, but McCarthy hopes not. “I’d love to see him back,” said McCarthy, who added that the team won’t decide whether to re-sign Lacy until he “clears the medical threshold” (via Demovsky).
Loose Lacey he’s unnecessary baggage and use some $ to get a secondary.
I say we keep Lacy. Let him add 5-10 more pounds and he’d make a great backup O-lineman
Of course, Capers keeps his job. Terrible.
Agree
Capers is a legit defensive coordinator
Interestingly, the only people who say Capers is “legit” are the Packers opponents. His best days were in the 1990’s. Of course it hasn’t helped that Thompson has no clue drafting defensive players. It IS time both are thrown out of Green Bay.
Wow I’m actually really excited to see Montgomery move to RB full time. Atleast he doesn’t have as much wear and tear on his body that other running backs might have.
People complaining about Capers are funny. He’s the reason they won the Super Bowl they did that year, or did you forget how good that defense was during that run? His biggest playmakers are an old Peppers and past his prime Matthews. The last impact player he got was Charles Woodson almost 10 years ago. This is the definition of making chicken salad out of you know what.
The fact that they won two playoff games with Gunter as their CB1 is a minor miracle.
If LaDarius Gunter is your #3 CB or even your #2 in 2017, then you’ll have a solid defense. He got exposed by Jones and Bryant but held OBJ in check for the most part. He’s not as bad as people think
People calling for capers to be fired, let’s state it bluntly, have no freaking clue what they’re talking about.
Noise.
Casual fan noise.
I agree with pt57. The dude doesn’t have a clue.
Hey Pt57 don’t forget about Brice in the secondary too….if the packers can move Matthews inside (he’s only had 11 sacks in his last 28 games) to sure up the middle then add a pass rusher across from Perry and a solid CB or two the defense will be fine. With how many points the offense can score the defense only needs to be a top 15ish unit to be very competitive
I was so excited about Clay moving back outside again this season. As someone who has been watching his career for a long time at this point, it doesn’t matter if you think he’s “past his prime” or injured too much or what. He played at a high level on the inside, which was new to him, in 15, and I wouldn’t mind watching him finish his career there. He’s always had a knack for the important plays…perhaps as he’s getting a little older, those plays are more on the inside than the outside. Just hope they use him in the best situations in the future. He still makes plays.
While Mathews only played 12 games he had a total of 24 tackles. Pathetic!
Especially while he was making over $13 million.
He was hurt you try to play with a shoulder like that let him be healthy and limit his playing time a bit keep him fresh like they did with Peppers wish they would bring Kevin Green back as a coach again