Defensive Coordinator Candidates

[Dantés]

Isn't Evero a Fangio disciple?

He’s much more of one than Barry.

 

[AmishMafia]

Evero, Zimmer, Vrabel, Staley, and minter. Those are the guys I am brining in for interviews on the first wave. I think there are some great possibilities there.

 

[Team Ronny]

Hewitt and Harris also.

 

[Big L]

You have to at least inquire about Leonard. If he was your choice before, makes no sense not to at least kick the tires

 

[longtimefan]

Wink or Rex would be awesome. I just wonder if Rex really wants back in the game.

Say no to Wink

 

[longtimefan]

You have to at least inquire about Leonard. If he was your choice before, makes no sense not to at least kick the tires

Heard he was in talks with Colorado...but maybe stopped

 

[Poppa San]

Missed it or I wouldn't have opened this one. Definitely merge them or purge this one.

Maybe it should be a sticky. Oh wait, it was. But merge them I did.

 

[Wraith09]

The only particular candidate I can think of is Jim Leonhard. I think the next DC should be someone who has an aggressive strategy that stops offenses. I despise the prevent defense or any passive style that lets opposing offenses to march down the field. I also oppose a coach that substitutes players late in a game before the losing opposing team substitutes. That's like kicking a field goal in the final minutes of a game when you need a TD to win. Maybe better play calling on offense are in order. The Packer defense looked better at the end of the season, but that was after the disasters against NYG and TB.

 

[XPack]

Ron Rivera is being mentioned too.

 

[PikeBadger]

Heard he was in talks with Colorado...but maybe stopped

With Deion Sanders??? Now there's an odd couple!

 

[Dantés]

With Deion Sanders??? Now there's an odd couple!

Sanders acts as the recruiting coordinator and brand manager and then hires a staff that actually knows how to coach football.

 

[PikeBadger]

Sanders acts as the recruiting coordinator and brand manager and then hires a staff that actually knows how to coach football.

That's always been my thinking too. From the very beginning I thought he's just another Al McGuire.

 

[games]

There is nothing inherently broken in "the scheme." And if you follow Fangio back through his lengthy history in the NFL, you'll find that his defenses aren't cookie-cutter.

There are always fad schemes in the NFL. The reason why some guys within the fad continue to succeed while others fail is that some of them are architects who understand it all from the inside and can evolve it over time, while other guys are journeymen who can install what they learned somewhere else and then it works or it doesn't.

Besides, Barry isn't a Fangio disciple. He was billed that way simply because he spent one season prior to GB hiring him with Brandon Staley and he has used a lot of 2 high shell (which the entire league has...).

He cut his teeth under Monte Kiffin and the tampa 2.

The rest of his time in the NFL has been spent primarily under John Pagano and Wade Phillips.

You're quite correct. JB is NOT a Fangio disclple.
JB's worst offense is doing what his boss directed him to do (run Fangio's scheme).

IMO, the reason JB won't be departing is two-fold:
1. JB took a TON of heat for the scheme MLF directed him to run.
2. The defense JB knows and prefers might be the "next man up" in GB!!!

 

[Firethorn1001]

Evero, Zimmer, Vrabel, Staley, and minter. Those are the guys I am brining in for interviews on the first wave. I think there are some great possibilities there.

Quite possible (probable even) that none of them would be interviewed. Evero is being blocked by Carolina right now (and might become their HC), Vrabel seems to have HC opportunities, rumors that there is no interest in Staley and Minter probably would follow Harbaugh or possibly be the HC at Michigan.

 

[PackerDNA]

Quite possible (probable even) that none of them would be interviewed. Evero is being blocked by Carolina right now (and might become their HC), Vrabel seems to have HC opportunities, rumors that there is no interest in Staley and Minter probably would follow Harbaugh or possibly be the HC at Michigan.

After reading your post, starting to get a bad feeling. What if we end up having to settle and end up worse or no better than with Barry? They may have screwed the pooch twice one by hiring him and two by hanging on to him for so long. They've got to get this hire right

 

[AmishMafia]

Quite possible (probable even) that none of them would be interviewed. Evero is being blocked by Carolina right now (and might become their HC), Vrabel seems to have HC opportunities, rumors that there is no interest in Staley and Minter probably would follow Harbaugh or possibly be the HC at Michigan.

Agreed. Of course my top picks have other options, they are most people's top picks. Even if we got Vrabel, he would only be here 1 or 2 years - and that is fine.

After reading your post, starting to get a bad feeling. What if we end up having to settle and end up worse or no better than with Barry? They may have screwed the pooch twice one by hiring him and two by hanging on to him for so long. They've got to get this hire right

There are still a bunch of interesting options. Just don't know them enough to say one way or another. Guys who are successful as position coaches or great at the college level require more of a projection. If interviewing i would ask questions about schematic philosophy and be looking for these qualities by how he responds:

Energy
Communication skills
Teaching skills - does he explain things quickly and thoroughly
Authoritative - does he come across as knowledgeable
Charisma - tough to describe what that means but will the players respect and believe in him

 

[Jayzee1981]

Vrabel is getting a HC job. There’s no way he’s gonna be a DC.

Leonhard
Evero
Fangio
Wink

Those I’d start with first.

Also it’s great they canned the Strength and conditioning coach. I can do better. Maybe we can exhume Mother Theresa or Jesus Christ himself so we can find a cure for Watson’s paper hammy?

 

[Poppa San]

I heard a talking head say that since most pro offenses are heading towards the same style as successful colleges that a successful college DC should be a front runner. Like Schumann from Georgia since we have a few of his former players. Also on the more controversial side, could Mel Tucker's career be salvaged from allegations of liberties with females? Or is it too soon?

 

[games]

I heard a talking head say that since most pro offenses are heading towards the same style as successful colleges that a successful college DC should be a front runner. Like Schumann from Georgia since we have a few of his former players. Also on the more controversial side, could Mel Tucker's career be salvaged from allegations of liberties with females? Or is it too soon?

Strong argument for Jesse Minter of Michigan. But, like Michigan, I wonder how many of those "college" defenses are actually cooked up by former NFL coaches, players, etc.

 

[Voyageur]

What about Smith has you figuring he's gone? Yes, he's 31, but signed through '26 (and they obviously knew about his age at the time). Haven't seen much in the way of negative comments about him, and it only costs about 2.5 mil more to keep him than dumping him. Should he stay and Enagbare comes back from his injury, the gang's back together.

Also (given what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?), why would Alexander be gone? It would cost 3.5 mil to get rid of him.

Not sure about "Same with...", but when you fill in the blank, we'll see.

Just wondering.

After looking at Smith's contract on Sportrac, I think you're right. He still plays at a high enough level that he can contribute, even if we do bring in fresh blood to take the position down the road. That would be a huge hit against the cap if we let him go. They'll probably stick with him for at least one more year, and probably two because of cost.

I don't know about Alexander. I got the impression he wants out of GB. But, with a new DC, that could totally change. No matter what, he's a free spirit. Hopefully a new DC could get him buying into the program. The Packers have a lot of bucks invested in him.

 

[OldSchool101]

Evero, Zimmer, Vrabel, Staley, and minter. Those are the guys I am brining in for interviews on the first wave. I think there are some great possibilities there.

I like the Zimmer idea if he’s open to GB or coaching again for that matter.
He has extensive experience and as a former HC in our Division he has beaucoup knowledge to bring to the table (Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati, Minnesota)
I have no idea if he even wants to assume a DC role, but he’d be welcomed and within 2 seasons, I believe we’d be SB bound.
Hes an easy a top 5 choice for me

 

[Voyageur]

For openers, we don't know if the Packers intend continuing along the line of using the same type of defense as they have been. If they decide to change it up, the coach's background in defense matters. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Packers have watched one DC after another come into town and not quite get over the top, and might opt to go with more of a base 4-3.

Just guessing here. Can't be certain. But you have to decide that first, before we throw out names. Not all coaches are versed in all defenses.

But, that's just my opinion.

 

[Dantés]

In his most recent comments, it sounds like LaFleur is beginning to soften on his support of Joe Barry. I could be wrong, but I think there could be a change on the horizon. So if they make the move, who are the options to replace him? Here are the names that occur to me.

Preferred Candidates:

-Chris Hewitt, DB's, Ravens: Hewitt has served under some great defensive coaches and I think he's be a homerun hire.

-Dave Merritt, DB's, Chiefs: I'm speculating here a little bit, but I think Merritt could be a rising star as a defensive coach. The Chiefs have had a ton of success under Merritt getting great play out of young/unheralded DB's.

-Jim Leonhard, Analyst, Illinois: They offered him the job once and he turned it down. Would they try to make it work again?

-Mike Caldwell, DC, Jaguars: Caldwell was just scapegoated by Doug Pederson; he's a Todd Bowles disciple who employs a more aggressive, high pressure style of defense.

-Mike Rutenberg, LB's, Jets: Upon review, this is the Jets assistant I prefer over Manuel. He was a Pass Game Coordinator in SF before joining the Jets with Saleh.

I edited and simplified my list to remove guys who are not actually available or who have been ruled out.

My preference is Hewitt, but my guess is Leonhard. I think there's a good argument to be made that he turned it down last time because he believed he would be the future HC at Wisconsin.

 

[AmishMafia]

I like the Zimmer idea if he’s open to GB or coaching again for that matter.
He has extensive experience and as a former HC in our Division he has beaucoup knowledge to bring to the table (Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati, Minnesota)
I have no idea if he even wants to assume a DC role, but he’d be welcomed and within 2 seasons, I believe we’d be SB bound.
Hes an easy a top 5 choice for me

Yeah, maybe I should have put him in group 2. Those that you have to interview to figure out where he is at. I always thought his defenses played better than their talent level but it has been a while for him.

I just looked him up. He hasn't coached in 3 years (I thought it was longer) and is 67 (I thought he was younger). Still interested though.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

Names to throw around:

Mike Vrabel​

Brandon Staley​

Wink Martindale​

Ejiro Evero​

Leslie Frazier​

Al Harris​

I'm curious. Why do you think that Al Harris would be a good DC?