Defensive Coordinator Candidates

[Dantés]

I know that people would hate an internal hire, but the more I look into Jerry Gray, the more impressed I am by his background. I did a deep dive on him and on Teryl Austin, and Gray is a more impressive guy in my opinion.

• Gray's first stint as an NFL DC came back in 2001 with the Bills. His first two seasons were rough, but in 2003-2004, Buffalo was among the league's best defenses. He got cleaned out when HC Mike Mularkey was fired.

• He then returned to the ranks as a DB coach for Washington (2006-09) and Seattle (2010) under Joe Gibbs, Jim Zorn, and Pete Carroll.

• From 2011 to 2013 he got his second stint as a defensive coordinator with the Titans under Mike Munchak. In 2010, prior to Gray's arrival, the Titans allowed 21.2 ppg. In his first season, they improved to 19.8 ppg. In 2012, they saw big regression to 29.4 (their offense was wretched; put them in a lot of bad positions). In 2013, they went back to league average (23.4 ppg). Once again, he got cleaned out when the HC was fired (Munchak was replaced by Ken Whisenhunt in 2013).

• From 2014 to 2019, Gray was the DB's coach of the Vikings. Minnesota had a lot of DB's arrive and thrive under Gray's coaching: Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Captain Munnerlyn, Andrew Sendejo (was in his 2nd season when Gray showed up), Terence Newman (saw a late career renaissance under Gray), Trae Waynes, Anthony Harris.

• In his one and only season in Green Bay, many Packer defensive backs saw career seasons: Jaire Alexander, Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Chandon Sullivan, Raven Greene.

Bottom Line: Gray has distinguished himself as a DB's coach everywhere he's been, especially in the last decade. He's also proved in multiple seasons in different places as a DC that he can oversee a strong defense. The Packers could do a lot worse than him as a defensive coordinator

 

[Dantés]

Who wouldn't be all that exciting, but would almost certainly improve upon Pettine is Wade Phillips.

He's also a guy that LaFleur has a connection with.

 

[easyk83]

LSU mayBhave reached out for him as dc

Leonard has seen big offers from big schools before, I think hes pretty attached to Madison and being HC there is probably his dream job. Besides LSU's HC wants a 43 D and Leonard is an odd front guy. I think that the only position he'd leave Madison for is in Green Bay.

 

[GreenNGold_81]

RIP Pettine, leaves GB one year too late. Thanks for kinda turning things around. Overall, lots to still improve.

 

[GleefulGary]

Who wouldn't be all that exciting, but would almost certainly improve upon Pettine is Wade Phillips.

He's also a guy that LaFleur has a connection with.

At least he’s more aggressive.

 

[Dantés]

At least he’s more aggressive.

But he still wouldn't excite me. We saw this year that he wasn't exactly getting the most out of the Rams personnel. And he's 73.

 

[Snoops]

Chris Hewitt would be a good choice imo he had ties to our director of personal milt Hendrickson. The jags are sniffing around him. I guess it depends on how the organization thinks we are to being a super bowl type defense if they feel close I feel like they will promote within with gray getting an interview for sure. Otherwise who knows. I want somebody that gets the defense fired up excited when they get a play like saleh is. A aggressive motivator not someone that lives in the press box’s..

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

So I'm late but I just found out that Lovie Smith is now the DC for the Texans. So that leave Jerod Mayo, Romeo Crennel, Kris Richard, and Marvin Lewis as my top candidates.

I think the safest choice is Crennel, anywhere he's been he's posted solid defenses.

What kinda scares me is if LeFleur goes this same BS "promote from within" route. Kirk Olivadotti was a defensive assistant during his Washington years. The only exception to that of course would be Freddie Gray.

However, I do wonder if he'll find somebody from his old coaching gigs. I pulled these guys from a quick search:

Jim Haslett - Was DC at Washington from 10-14, currently LB coach for Titans.
Marquand Manuel - Was DB Coach at Atlanta from 15-16, currently DB coach for Eagles, played Safety for the Packers in 06.
Wade Phillips - Was DC for Los Angeles in 2017, currently not coaching.
Kerry Coombs - Was DB Coach at Tennessee from 18-19, currently DC for Ohio State.
Terrell Williams - DL Coach at Tennessee since 18.

Obviously Haslett and Phillips probably stick out the most. Coombs is probably never going to leave Ohio State unless it's to be a HC elsewhere. Manuel and Williams would fulfill the Rooney Rule requirements if Gray doesn't get an interview.

 

[Dantés]

Here's the background of Hewitt that I posted in the Mike Pettine thread:

Next name up-- Chris Hewitt, Pass Defense Coordinator, Baltimore Ravens.

Hewitt played DB for Cincinnati and was a UDFA for the Saints in 1997. He hung around for three years before moving on.

There's a gap in his history as far as I can find, but he turned up in 2003 as a strength and conditioning coach with Notre Dame.

In 2004, he came on Greg Schiano's staff at Rutgers as a Graduate Assistant. From '05 to '07, he held a position there called the Director of Skill and Speed Development. From '08 to '09, he was their DB's coach. Finally, from '10 to '11, he was their RB's coach.

Once Schiano moved on to the head coaching job with the Bucs, Hewitt caught on with the Ravens who had become familiar with him through a minority coaching fellowship. In 2012-13, he was an Assistant ST coach; in 2014 he became the Assistant DB's coach; in 2015-16 he became the Senior DB's coach; from 2017 to present, he's been the secondary coach, or "Pass Defense Coordinator."

He's untested as a DC, but I like how quickly he's progressed on one of the best staffs in the country, within one of the league's best franchises. He's served under some really good defensive coordinators in Dean Pees and Wink Martindale as well.

I don't know exactly what the change is, but I assume that he has some higher level of responsibility in game planning as the "pass defense coordinator" as opposed to just being a defensive backs coach. So perhaps that experience is preparing him to be "the guy."

The Ravens' pass defense this year has been excellent. They are 4th in Net Yards per Attempt allowed this season (5.6). By comparison, the Packers are at 6.5. And he does not necessarily have ideal talent to work with either. His cornerbacks are good, but he's been getting a lot out of starting safeties Clark and Elliott, both 6th rounds guys from 2017 and 2018 respectively.

 

[Dantés]

Here's some background on my second favorite candidate.

Steve Russ, Linebacker Coach, Washington

Russ played his college ball for Air Force. He was drafted in the 7th round by the Broncos and stuck with them 5 years (1995-1999), and later played in the XFL for one season (2000).

In 2001, he got his start in coaching with the University of Ohio, working with the Outside Linebackers ('01), then the inside linebackers ('02-'03), and finally adding special teams to his job title (2004).

From 2005-06, he was the inside linebackers coach for Syracuse, taking over as their defensive coordinator in 2007.

Strangely, from 2008-2011, he had three different job titles with Wake Forest (first Tight Ends, then Linebackers, then Defensive Backs).

In 2012, he returned to his alma mater, and until 2017 served in various capacities: Assistant Head Coach, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs, and Inside Linebackers.

2018 saw him transition to the NFL. With Cole Holcomb leaving to join the Browns staff, the Panthers had an opening at LB Coach, and hired Russ. He served there through 2019, and then followed Rivera to Washington and coached in the same capacity there this most recent season.

So he doesn't have a ton of NFL experience behind him, but I like Ron Rivera's tree. He did nice work in 2020 to get pretty strong play out of Cole Holcomb and Kevin Pierre-Louis, relative to what one would expect from guys of their pedigree.

 

[Dantés]

Another name to monitor is Kris Kocurek, 49ers DL coach.

He has a great resume as a position coach. But DL coaches rarely make the transition to coordinator. They tend to be specialists, much like OL coaches. I think it's telling that the 49ers lost Saleh and chose to hire Cory Undlin.

 

[Fredrik87]

So I came across this, thoughts?

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[Dantés]

So I came across this, thoughts?

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Sounds pretty intriguing!

 

[LambeauLombardi]

I mean to be fair Wade Phillips really wouldn't be a terrible nod...worth a call to see how he feels about it, get a feel for the fit from our perspective.

Why not. He's the one coordinator that has Brady figured out.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

It's close to impossible to figure out which way the Packers are going to look to replace Pettine but I would prefer them to hire a young and upcoming coach.

 

[rdawsoniii]

It's close to impossible to figure out which way the Packers are going to look to replace Pettine but I would prefer them to hire a young and upcoming coach.

They I’ll go young....guaranteed. I just hope they don’t promote from within.

 

[rdawsoniii]

I’d be surprised.

And I would be upset.

 

[Dantés]

So I came across this, thoughts?

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Circling back on this-- thanks for bringing him up.

I had not know anything about him previously, but he is a pretty attractive candidate. Jumping from Safeties Coach to DC would be a big jump, but we've seen recently in the league that if a guy's got it, they can make that guy of transition work.

I will say that if you think about what the Rams have done at safety since Evero has been there, he's clearly doing good work. He helped Lamarcus Joyner transition to the position and thrive. He helped John Johnson develop into a really good player. He helped Taylor Rapp work around his deficiencies to become a strong starter. And he got good play out of Jordan Fuller, a really athletically limited rookie.

I guess the only thing to give you pause is that the Rams could have promoted him to the job when Staley left, and instead hired Raheem Morris.

But he's a name to monitor for sure.

 

[Dantés]

A few other names worth noting given their backgrounds and the staffs they're working on:

• John Butler, Defensive Backs, Bills
• Dave Borgonzi, Linebackers, Colts
• Dave Merritt, Defensive Backs, Chiefs
• Gerald Alexander, Defensive Backs, Dolphins

 

[Dantés]

What kind of sucks here is the timing. A number of guys have already been hired. Aaron Glenn, Aubrey Pleasant, Jonathan Gannon, Raheem Morris... all hired by teams whose seasons ended before the Packers.

 

[PackinMSP]

What might help is what kind of scheme the D coordinators run too?

3-4
Attacking 3-4
4-3
Tampa 2
Hybrid
Etc

I would prefer for it to match the strengths of some of our incumbent defensive stars if possible

Like where would Z smith play on a 4-3? For example

 

[Dantés]

What might help is what kind of scheme the D coordinators run too?

3-4
Attacking 3-4
4-3
Tampa 2
Hybrid
Etc

I would prefer for it to match the strengths of some of our incumbent defensive stars if possible

Like where would Z smith play on a 4-3? For example

At defensive end and interior defensive line...

 

[GleefulGary]

What might help is what kind of scheme the D coordinators run too?

3-4
Attacking 3-4
4-3
Tampa 2
Hybrid
Etc

I would prefer for it to match the strengths of some of our incumbent defensive stars if possible

Like where would Z smith play on a 4-3? For example

I’m not going to say base scheme is irrelevant, but it nearly is. Majority of the time defenses in the NFL are playing a 4-2-5 or something like that. Depends on personnel.

Z Smith is an edge. So in a 4-3, he’s playing the edge and occasionally at 3T. In a 3-4 base, he’s playing the edge, and occasionally 3T or even 5T. It’s not all that different.

 

[GleefulGary]

All that to say, philosophy is more important than base scheme.

 

[Pugger]

https://sports.yahoo.com/packers-newly-vacant-defensive-coordinator-230954018.html