The Packers Need An Outside Voice In the Offensive Coaching Room

The 2024 NFL season didn't end the way the Green Bay Packers would have liked. That will be true for 31 other NFL teams that won't hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season, and it doesn't mean the season was a total failure.

Matt LaFleur took the league's youngest roster to the postseason for the second conecutive year, improving the team's record from 9-8 in 2023 to 11-6 in 2024. The offense was one of the league's most explosive, the defense took a massive step forward under new coordinator Jeff Hafley, and the Packers received a talent infusion from their key free agents and rookies.

Yet you'd think the team's season was comparable to that of the Cleveland Browns based on the vibes of the fanbase. The Packers had Super Bowl aspirations and did not win the Super Bowl, so, clearly LaFleur and his squad are failures. Desire leads to suffering.

Despite the season's shortcomings, LaFleur is one of the best head coaches in the league, and there are few men I'd rather have at the helm of this storied franchise. Calling for a replacement is a fool's errand.

That said, no man is perfect, and that includes LaFleur. Between some questionable in-game management decisions, an offense that never found consistency despite being one of the league's best, and a plethora of self-inflicted wounds that never fully healed, it is fair to criticize some of this season's coaching.

The 2024 Packers were good, not great. Ideally, they can make the necessary improvements to be great in 2025. And it starts at the top. In addition to his usual self-scouting, LaFleur should consider bringing in some sort of offensive coaching assistant to help he and his team reach the next level.

The Packers finished the season fourth in offensive DVOA. It's not like they were a bad offense. In fact, were one of the league’s most explosive units. Josh Jacobs brought a new element to the run game, Malik Willis filled in for Jordan Love beautifully, and Love did his best with a receiving corps that often didn't do him many favors.

Despite that, it wasn't enough to keep up with the NFC's other top teams. The offense suffered from slow starts, penalties, and drops all year, and those problems were even more apparent against the NFL’s best. The offense also went away from concepts that worked in 2023 and never found the perfect marriage between the run and passing game.

The Packers never found a solution to their season-long issues.

LaFleur's “if we had the answers, it wouldn't have been a problem” theory applies to many areas of the team.

The good news about self-inflicted problems is that you can learn to not inflict them. Finding the answer on how to not make them is the key, and finding those answers will define the 2025 offseason.

One inevitable question will be whether or not LaFleur needs to give up play-calling. The head coach has a lot of responsibilities, and removing play-calling from the equation would let LaFleur focus on other areas. This is not the way.

LaFleur is a fantastic play-caller, and passing the buck along is rarely the solution. It didn't work in the late Mike McCarthy era, and it rarely works for the rest of the league.

Instead, I think the answer lies in finding an outside voice. The Packers are a draft-and-develop team, and that applies to their coaches as well. And the Packers have some great minds in their room. Yet sometimes you need that outside voice. A less biased view from a bird's-eye perspective can help find solutions that elude those stuck in the weeds.

Green Bay's offense was at its best in 2020, with Nathaniel Hackett as the offensive coordinator. Hackett's post-Green Bay roles haven't seen a lot of success, but he was integral to the Packers' “gold zone” success. He was also someone from a different coaching tree that LaFleur hadn't previously worked with. That allowed LaFleur to blend both his and Hackett's ideas into a beautiful fusion of football.

Getting that outside voice is key, but where do you put them? Adam Stenavich is evolving into a solid coordinator, and we particularly saw the run game, his specialty, evolve this season. Steno already received one head coaching interview (of course, it was with the Chicago Bears) and could see play-calling OC opportunities come his way as new regimes fill their staff. But I'm in no rush to lose Steno, so OC probably isn't going to be the spot for an outsider.

LaFleur announced in his end-of-season presser that venerable quarterback coach Tom Clements would be retiring. That does create an opportunity to bring in a fresh perspective, but there are plenty of internal candidates as well, including assistant QB (and in-game management) coach Connor Lewis, offensive assistant Sean Mannion, and former QB coach, now defensive consultant, Luke Getsy.

If the Packers want to keep it internal, there are still ways to bring in new ideas, it just involves being creative with titles.

The Packers could steal an idea from the Vikings, who have Ryan Cordell as a passing-game specialist and game-management coordinator. Jason Vrable has the passing-game coordinator title, and Connor Lewis does some work with game management, but devoting resources to a full-time game-management coordinator could be the answer. LaFleur had his issues with the clock and challenges this year, and this would be an ideal spot to bring in some help.

Sean Payton's staff in Denver has an assistant to the head coach (Paul Kelly) and a senior offensive assistant (Pete Carmichael). Hackett's own coaching staff in Denver had Jerry Rosburg as a senior assistant (Rosburg would become interim head coach after Hackett's dismissal). The Broncos have found multiple ways to get more offensive minds involved without creating a power struggle or LinkedIn title feuds.

LaFleur did bring in Robert Saleh as a consultant for the offense, but I'm not sure your best friend counts as an outside voice, even if Saleh did help the offense.

Ideally, LaFleur can use the now-open QB coach position to bring in some outside talent to integrate into his offense and take the next step. If he does go internal there, there are still plenty of ways to get full-time allies. Plenty of former head coaches and offensive coordinators are out there with experience to share. Football is ever-evolving, and absorbing new knowledge like a sponge is key to growth. Again, this was a very good offense. But it could be better. And getting some fresh voices is the best way to make that happen.