After a disappointing season in Green Bay that saw the Packers offense absolutely flounder without Aaron Rodgers, longtime coach Mike McCarthy decided to shuffle the deck, making numerous firings and hirings on both sides of the coaching staff.
Green Bay officially introduced its new crew of coaches Wednesday, one that boasts three former head coaches as coordinators (Joe Philbin, Mike Pettine, Ron Zook on offense, defense and special teams, respectively). Under Philbin, Green Bay also hired two former offensive coordinators in pass game coordinator Jim Hostler and QB coach Frank Cignetti.
Energized by the new hires, McCarthy explained that, without scrapping the playbook, Green Bay will be "starting over" on offense this season.
"We've taken a little bit of a back-to-basics approach on offense," McCarthy said. "We're going back and building a playbook like you would if it was your first year as a staff. Joe's such a great teacher. So, it's been a lot of fun so far."
Packers fans will be anxious to see if McCarthy's extreme makeover bears fruit. Green Bay is coming off of a season in which its offense saw production levels dip to depths not experienced since the Don Majkowski days. Sure, Rodgers was sidelined with a broken collarbone, and Brett Hundley was nothing to write home about, and the running backs were young and always hurt, and the receivers were slow, and Martellus Bennett left the team under mysterious circumstances, but that's no excuse!
Aside from plugging a healthy Rodgers back into the lineup, there will be no quick fixes in Green Bay. The best this new Packers staff can do for now is build a rapport and make their new boss look good.
As Philbin said Wednesday upon his official return to the Pack after seven years away, "making Mike McCarthy look like the smartest play caller in the National Football League," is one of his priorities.
