Packers Want QB Rodgers Back
In one of the more obvious nuggets of sports news, Packers’ president and CEO Mark Murphy expressed a team interest in quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning for another season in the monthly column Murphy uses to answer fan questions. 
“(Head coach) Matt (LaFleur), (general manager) Brian (Gutekunst), executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back,” Murphy wrote.
Despite some internal disputes and Rodgers’ misleading statements about his vaccination status, the 38-year-old is in line to potentially win his 4th MVP award, his second consecutively. He helped lead Green Bay to their second-straight first-round bye in the playoffs, though they did fall short of the Super Bowl for the second-straight year as a one-seed. So while the Packers can easily express their interest in his return, there are quite a few hurdles between that and re-signing him.
It started about 9 months ago when things gradually bubbled over during a long-term contract negotiation between the Packers and Rodgers. Rodgers had reportedly been unhappy during the proceedings and became so disgruntled that he told members of the organization that he didn’t want to return to the team. This frustration continued throughout an offseason that saw loads of trade speculation, including a report that Rodgers was under the impression that the Packers had promised to trade him before reneging on their deal. The offseason also contained a Rodgers hold-out that ended with a deal that some saw as a “Last Dance” contract that would help set up his departure after the season ended.
After a tumultuous offseason, came Rodgers’ issues with COVID-19. While the team, and reportedly the league, knew about Rodgers’ vaccination status, his positive COVID-19 test led to an investigation of the Packers’ mishandling of protocols.
Immediately after the season ended, Rodgers made it clear that he has no interest in staying in Green Bay if he doesn’t think the team can win in 2022. The veteran-QB told ESPN, “I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing.” A big part of that will rely on the return of two-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. Adams is set for quite the payday following a contract year that saw him rank second in the NFL in catches (123), third in receiving yards (1,553), and fifth in receiving touchdowns (11).
Another point that could factor into Rodgers’ decision is the shuffled offensive staff. Former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is now the head coach of the Broncos and quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy is the new offensive coordinator in Chicago. While Green Bay did promote a familiar face in offensive line coach/running-game coordinator Adam Stenavich, Rodgers is still without his QB coach and offensive coordinator of the last three seasons.
Lastly, and potentially most important in the list of things that undermine Murphy’s claim, is the Packers’ cap situation. Even if they can convince Rodgers to return to Wisconsin, the Packers are currently expected to be about $45MM over the cap, not including the hits from a tagged or re-signed Adams. In order to bring back both Adams and Rodgers, the team would likely have to part ways with a number of cap-heavy players.
Regardless, the Packers can cross the declaration off their list. It was the first thing they needed to do on a laundry list of tasks to bring Rodgers back. They can now move on in their pursuit and get to work on building a team that Aaron Rodgers thinks can win a Super Bowl, convincing him to return, and somehow paying for it all.
NFC Coaching Notes: Eberflus, Bucs, Panthers, Giants, Packers
Although Matt Eberflus landed the Bears job because of the Colts’ defensive performance, Chicago’s new HC is planning more of a CEO-type role for himself. Eberflus is not planning to call defensive plays for the Bears this season, via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns (on Twitter). Instead, new Chicago DC Alan Williams will handle that responsibility. Williams, 52, has previous DC experience, working under Leslie Frazier in Minnesota in the early 2010s, and has enjoyed a few tours as a DBs coach. This will be an interesting transition for Eberflus, a first-time HC. It will not be a notable transition for the Bears, who spent much of the past two seasons with their head coach operating in a CEO-type capacity. Matt Nagy handed off play-calling duties to then-OC Bill Lazor in each of the past two seasons.
Here is the latest from the NFC coaching carousel:
- The Buccaneers are set to go through a major transition, with Tom Brady‘s retirement ending a brief but successful era that likely doubled as the second-highest peak in franchise history. But Bruce Arians is not eyeing a rebuild. The fourth-year Bucs HC denied a report that indicated the team would allow assistants to pursue other jobs even if the new positions were not promotions, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman (on Twitter). It looks like Arians will keep both coordinators — Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles — for the 2022 season, so Tampa Bay will still feature considerable continuity despite Brady’s departure and the presumptive exits of some key free agents.
- Circling back to the Bears, the team made some additional hires in recent days. New OC Luke Getsy‘s right-hand man on the Justin Fields front will be Andrew Janocko, Chicago’s new quarterbacks coach. Janocko spent the past seven seasons with the Vikings, ending the run by serving as their QBs coach in 2021. He also worked as the Vikes’ receivers coach and assistant O-line coach at points during his long Minnesota tenure. The Bears also hired James Rowe as their secondary coach. Rowe will come over after serving as the Colts’ cornerbacks coach. David Overstreet, Indianapolis’ assistant DBs coach, will also follow Eberflus and fill the same position with the Bears. Overstreet moved up from the quality control level with Indy in 2021.
- Former Packers offensive line coach James Campen landed a job as the Panthers‘ O-line coach, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Following a 12-year tenure in Green Bay, Campen will begin the 2022 season with a new team for the fourth straight year. He coached the Browns, Chargers and Texans’ O-lines from 2019-21.
- Giants running backs coach Burton Burns is expected to retire, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets. Burns, 69, began coaching in 1981 and spent the past two years as the Giants’ RBs coach — his only NFL position during his career. Fellow college-staff veteran Kevin Sherrer is expected to follow Burns on the way out, per Dunleavy. Sherrer served as the Giants’ linebackers coach last season and migrated to the NFL level, like Burns, for the first time in 2020.
- To replace tight ends coach Justin Outten, who made a big leap to become the Broncos’ offensive coordinator, the Packers promoted John Dunn. Although this is a promotion, after Dunn spent the 2021 season as an offensive analyst in Green Bay, he coached Jets tight ends from 2019-20.
Packers Eyeing Rich Bisaccia For ST Coordinator
After losing out on the Raiders HC job, Rich Bisaccia may quickly land on his feet. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), Bisaccia has had talks with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur about joining the staff as special teams coordinator.
Per the reporter, the Packers would have to pay up if they want the long-time ST coach to join Green Bay, but the organization may be willing to meet his demands. One thing going for the Packers is Bisaccia’s relationship with defensive coordinator Joe Barry; per Silverstein (on Twitter), the two worked together in Tampa Bay, and Barry is the son-in-law of Rod Marinelli, who is Bisaccia’s “best friend.”
Bisaccia has spent close to two decades in the NFL as a special teams coordinator, having worked for the Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys, and Raiders. He joined the Raiders organization in 2018, and he took on the role of interim head coach following the ousting of Jon Gruden in 2021. The 61-year-old ended up guiding the team to a 7-5 record and a playoff appearance.
Following his brief success as HC, Bisaccia had been considered for head coaching gigs with the Raiders and Jaguars this offseason. Meanwhile, the Packers recently moved on from ST coordinator Maurice Drayton following a playoff loss that saw the Packers allow a blocked punt (which was returned for a touchdown) and a blocked field goal.
Broncos To Interview Packers’ Justin Outten For OC; Klint Kubiak On Radar
Nathaniel Hackett‘s offensive coordinator search has hit multiple snags, with the Packers nixing meetings with multiple candidates. The new Broncos HC is still aiming to bring over a Green Bay assistant to be his right-hand man on offense in Denver.
Packers tight ends coach Justin Outten is expected to interview for the Broncos’ OC job, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Outten has been with the Packers since 2019. Although Outten was never a position coach prior to the Green Bay gig, he spent time under Kyle Shanahan with the Falcons as an intern in 2016. A high school assistant coach for eight years prior to trekking to Atlanta, Outten spent three seasons with the Falcons and emerged on the Broncos’ radar over the weekend.
The Broncos are also planning to interview Klint Kubiak, Klis adds, though they might not be targeting him for their OC job. The second-generation coach is being considered for another top staff position. This could mean a gig as quarterbacks coach, Kubiak’s role in Minnesota prior to rising to offensive coordinator in 2021. Klint Kubiak was with the Broncos as an offensive assistant from 2016-18, the first of those seasons coming during father Gary Kubiak‘s HC stint. The Panthers interviewed Klint Kubiak, 34, for their OC role last month.
The Packers promoted Hackett’s initial Broncos OC target, O-line coach Adam Stenavich, to replace him as OC. Matt LaFleur also nixed Hackett’s plans to interview Green Bay wide receivers coach Jason Vrable. This led the Broncos to Outten, who joins Chargers tight ends coach Kevin Koger as OC candidates. It is interesting this job could come down to two tight ends coaches with a combined four years of position-coaching experience. But Hackett is planning to bring the West Coast Offense back to Denver; Outten and Kubiak have recent experience in this system. Hackett is expected to call plays for the Broncos.
While the Broncos requested a defensive coordinator interview with Ravens D-line coach Anthony Weaver, Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero — a longtime friend of Hackett’s — can probably be considered the favorite for that job.
Latest On Packers’ Coaching Staff
More changes have been made official today on the Packers’ coaching staff. The most notable of them, as Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, is that special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton will not return (Twitter link).
That news certainly doesn’t come as a surprise to many, given the unit’s struggles throughout the season. After ranking dead last in the league in terms of special teams DVOA, the issue came to a head in Green Bay’s loss to the 49ers in the Divisional round. With a blocked field goal at the end of the first half, and a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the unit’s performance played a large role in yet another 13-win season coming to a premature end.
Problems in the third phase of the game are nothing new in Green Bay. As The Athletic’s Jason Wilde tweets, the news of Drayton’s departure continues a seemingly never-ending trend of new coordinators cycling in and out. The new ST coordinator will be the fourth in the past five seasons for the team. As ESPN’s Rob Demovsky notes, Drayton is the eighth consecutive ST coach to either be fired or forced out (Twitter link).
With Nathaniel Hackett and Luke Getsy being hired by the Broncos and Bears, respectively, other changes were necessary on the offensive staff. It has already been reported that Adam Stenavich has been promoted to OC, which left a vacancy in the role of offensive line coach. To fill it, Luke Butkus, who had previously been an assistant o-line coach in Green Bay for three seasons, got promoted (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman).
Schneidman adds that Ryan Mahaffey is being promoted to assistant o-line coach after one season in Green Bay. As well, Connor Lewis has been promoted to assistant QBs coach following six seasons with the team. Lastly, wide receivers coach Jason Vrabel, who has spent three years with the Packers, including two in that role, has had passing game coordinator added to his title.
Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
Championship Sunday has come and gone, and with it, we now know the matchup for Super Bowl LVI. The Rams’ win on Sunday guarantees that the Lions’ other first round pick will be in the bottom two, slightly devaluing it relative to if they had lost. Still, it is one of the bargaining chips they hold if they were to attempt to move up into the top spot, from their current position of second. As one of four teams with multiple picks in the opening round, Detroit will certainly be a squad to keep an eye on in April.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
* = Remaining playoff teams
Packers Cautiously Optimistic About Aaron Rodgers Return; Broncos In Hunt For Rodgers, Davante Adams?
All we really know about Aaron Rodgers‘ status at this point is that he does not want to remain with the Packers through a rebuild and that he plans to make a decision about his NFL future sooner rather than later (perhaps no later than February 22, the first day that Green Bay could put the franchise tag on Rodgers’ favorite target, Davante Adams). Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Packers are cautiously optimistic that their three-time MVP will return for one more season.
That is largely because Rodgers did not immediately board a plane to leave Wisconsin following Green Bay’s disappointing divisional round loss to the 49ers last week. Instead, he stayed at the Packers’ facilities and met with head coach Matt LaFleur “and others” to discuss the team’s next steps. Those talks were apparently positive, which led to the feeling of optimism.
As we know, the Packers are currently projected to be roughly $45MM over the cap, and that does not include the ~$20MM tag for Adams. Still, the team is anxious to retain its top two offensive weapons for 2022, even though it will likely have to part ways with a number of other key contributors in order to become cap-compliant. The Packers apparently believe that, with Rodgers and Adams in tow, they can make one more run at a Super Bowl title before having to seriously consider a rebuild in 2023.
Green Bay could, of course, accelerate such a rebuild and work towards a new era of competitiveness right away by trading Rodgers in the coming months. The Broncos, who recently hired former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett as head coach, were connected to a potential Rodgers acquisition last offseason, and as they appear to be just a quarterback away from legitimate contention, many were expecting them to make another run at the 38-year-old passer in 2022.
Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network hears that there is a very strong possibility that Denver GM George Paton will, in fact, pull off a Rodgers trade this year, and Pauline’s sources also say they were surprised a trade did not materialize in 2021. Per Pauline, the Broncos are also interested in Adams should the star wideout hit the open market, but with the Packers seemingly adamant on deploying the franchise tag on Adams, that does not seem especially likely at the moment.
The Broncos do have multiple second- and third-round choices in the 2022 draft, though they have just one first-rounder (No. 9 overall). It’s hard to say what the Packers would demand in a Rodgers trade, but a package that includes multiple first-round picks seems like a reasonable starting point in negotiations.
Packers Promoting Stenavich To OC
With former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett leaving to become the head coach of the Broncos and quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy expected to join Matt Eberflus‘ new staff as the Bears’ offensive coordinator, the Packers needed to move quickly to start rebuilding their offensive staff. The first such move was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport in a tweet this evening announcing that Green Bay will be promoting offensive line coach and running game coordinator Adam Stenavich to be the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Stenavich got his first NFL opportunity in 2017 as the 49ers assistant offensive line coach after some college coaching stints at Michigan, Northern Arizona, and San Jose State. After two seasons in San Francisco, Stenavich got hired in Green Bay at his most recent position before getting today’s promotion.
The Packers had previously denied the Broncos’ request to interview Stenavich and this most recent report confirms the suspicions that soon followed that denial. Stenavich will be shouldered with the burden of building a new offensive coaching staff. It is expected that, after being denied Stenavich, the Broncos will pursue Hackett’s former tight ends coach Justin Outten to become the offensive coordinator in Denver, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter).
In three seasons with Stenavich as the run game coordinator, the Packers have ranked 15th (2019), 8th (2020), and 18th (2021) in the NFL in total rushing yards. Combining the rushing offense’s inconsistency from year to year with questions in the air about quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ future, Stenavich could have a difficult task in front of him following a season where the Packers’ offense helped Green Bay to the NFC’s only first round bye.
Packers’ Getsy Expected To Become Bears’ OC
It looks like Matt Eberflus is getting the guy to run his offense as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out that Packers’ quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy is expected to be hired as the Bears’ new offensive coordinator.
Getsy has spent his entire NFL coaching career in Green Bay joining the Packers as an offensive quality control coach in 2014. He worked his way up to wide receivers coach before taking a year away from the team to be the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State University. He returned to Green Bay in 2019 as the quarterbacks coach and added the passing-game coordinator title to his job for the following two seasons.
The Packers have been a top ten passing offense in each of Getsy’s two years as passing-game coordinator, helping them to earn the top-seed in the NFC and setting up quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a potential fourth MVP award.
Getsy’s departure leaves holes for Green Bay at two offensive positions. The Packers have lost former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who took the position of head coach for the Broncos and now are expected to be without their quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator.
It’s expected that Eberflus will consider Getsy’s input in putting together the rest of the offensive staff. We wrote earlier about the Bears’ interest in Browns’ offensive line coach Bill Callahan and a few other expected hires for Chicago. Eberflus’ first NFL staff is starting to come together nicely.
Updates To Eberflus’ New Bears’ Staff
New head coach Matt Eberflus has wasted no time in starting to piece together his new coaching staff in Chicago. 
The Colts’ former defensive coordinator will bring some familiar names with him from Indianapolis on the defensive side of the ball. According to Zak Keefer, of The Athletic, it’s been confirmed that linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi will follow Eberflus to Chicago to retain the same position. Borgonzi has played a crucial role in the development of players like Darius Leonard, Anthony Walker, and Bobby Okereke. Rumors have been circulating that cornerbacks coach James Rowe and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli could soon follow in Borgonzi’s footsteps.
On the offensive side of the ball, Eberflus will have to build a new system. We’ve already seen Eagles’ passing-game coordinator Kevin Patullo’s name surface as a potential coordinator, especially being a former coworker of the Bears’ new skipper in Indianapolis. We’ve also seen Packers’ quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy‘s name mentioned as the favorite candidate to land the coordinator job.
Still nothing has been announced, but Sanjay Lal, who has coached wide receivers for six different NFL teams, most recently in Jacksonville, is reportedly interviewing today for the offensive coordinator job, according to Jane Slater of NFL Network. A London-native, Lal started out coaching in a California high school for about six years before earning opportunities to coach at a few local colleges, culminating in a position as the quarterbacks coach at the University of California, Berkeley. Lal got his first NFL opportunity joining Lane Kiffin‘s Oakland Raiders staff in 2007 as a quality control coach, getting promoted to wide receivers coach in 2009. The journeyman coach then spent time as a wide receivers coach for the Jets, Bills, Colts, and Cowboys before not being retained in Dallas when Mike McCarthy took over. After spending a year as a senior offensive assistant in Seattle for a year, Lal got another chance to coach wide receivers for the Jaguars under Urban Meyer, where he spent the past season.
The only other offensive position we’ve heard about comes from Sports Mockery writer Erik Lambert who reports that Eberflus and the Bears will pursue Browns’ offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Callahan has coached a laundry list of Pro Bowl players over the years and has two connections to the Bears’ job. Firstly, he worked with Eberflus in Dallas for about three seasons, and, second, Callahan was born and raised in Chicago.
Two names have surfaced so far at the special teams coordinator position. Lambert mentions Raiders’ interim-head coach Rich Bisaccia as the favorite to take over the special teams unit in Chicago as it becomes less and less likely that he’ll be retained as the head ball coach in Las Vegas. The other name mentioned came from Jordan Raanan who covers the Giants for ESPN. Ranaan tweeted out that Giants’ special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is scheduled to interview for the same position with the Bears tomorrow. McGaughey has already interviewed for the Chargers’ special teams coordinator job and has not ruled out remaining with the Giants.
It’s an impressive potential lineup for Eberflus as he attempts to put together his first full staff as a head coach. Updates should be expected shortly as all the names mentioned so far are no longer participating in the playoffs.