WEBVTT - #390 Packers Unscripted: He's here 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:20.239 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted, or should I say 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.239 welcome back to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:27.040 and Mike Spofford, he is my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz, 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.480 were coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field, 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.520 and we are back because the Packers have a new 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.120 head coach, the fifteenth head coach and franchise history, Matt 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:40.040 Lafleur is introduced by Mark Murphy and Brian Goudacunst on 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:43.159 Wednesday afternoon in the lambeau Field Media Auditorium West and 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:45.400 a lot of stuff we can kick around here and 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:48.320 a lot to talk about. But but boy, it was 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.680 an exciting day Wednesday at lambeau Field after what's been 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.680 a couple of long years and some frustrating seasons here 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.560 for the Packers. And uh, just seeing how jam packed 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:02.520 that media auditorium was with all those cameras. A scene 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:05.600 like that had not really taken place in Green Bay 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:07.480 in quite a while. No, I mean it, U, It 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.240 definitely was different. There was a palpable energy throughout the building, 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:15.400 whether it was the media auditorium, packers locker room when 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.880 we were in there, just the vibes in there as well, 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:20.480 not that there's any players there, but just amongst the 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:24.440 personnel and the people in the building, it just there 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:26.679 is a tangible energy that I think you can feel 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.160 radiating from this higher Matt Lafleur, thirty nine years old, 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.440 UH has a really interesting story when you look at 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.160 where he's come from and the route he took and 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.000 some of the lucky breaks that go your way sometimes 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.039 on that road to becoming an NFL head coach an 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.399 expansive resume, I think the kind of guy that you 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:49.080 look at when you're trying to build a franchise for 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:53.560 two thousand, nineteen and beyond really has the background you're 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.000 looking for with some of the different offenses that he 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:58.440 was exposed to and some of the players that he's 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.760 worked with. So now he's the fifteenth head coach and 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.800 franchise history and looking to turn this thing around in 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:06.960 Title Town. Yeah, I think what you just said, the 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.280 players that he worked with, I think that's the thing 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:12.440 that stands out to me the most, because let's be 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.320 honest here, the most important thing for Matt Lafleur as 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:17.840 the head coach of the Green Bay Packers is to 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.640 get Aaron Rodgers back to playing at the level that 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:23.040 we've seen Aaron Rodgers play at in the past. That 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.359 is job number one. However he's going to go about that. 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.799 And when you look at Matt Lafleur's history as a 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:33.760 quarterbacks coach in Washington, he found a lot of success 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.560 with the guy who became the NFL offensive Rookie of 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.480 the Year and Robert Griffin the third. Then as quarterbacks 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:44.800 coach in Atlanta, he was the position coach for Matt 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.200 Ryan when he wins his first m v P in 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.200 two thousand sixteen when the Falcons end up going to 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.680 the Super Bowl. Then last year, he becomes the offensive 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.440 coordinator and a play caller for the first time with 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.880 the Tennessee Titans, and he deals with a number of 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.600 for an injuries, going back and forth between Marcus Mariota 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:07.040 and Blaming Gabbert, and transforms their offense into a power 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:09.280 running team with Derrick Henry and gets them to the 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.880 precipice of a playoff birth of a week seventeen win 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.760 to get in game, which unfortunately the Titans don't win. 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:21.080 But my point is he's found success with a lot 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.280 of different types of players, particularly quarterbacks and a lot 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.840 of different styles of offense in a lot of ways. 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.240 And I think that bodes well for what the history, 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:34.079 what what what the future holds here for this historic franchise. Yeah, 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.320 and it's funny too because you you you listed off 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:39.720 all those different quarterbacks everybody's worked with into me, maybe 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.960 the most impressive out of that group is what he 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.320 and Sean McVeigh did with Jared Goff in Los Angeles. 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.240 You really forget. I mean he did, he worked wonders 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:52.400 with Matt Ryan, helped him, you know, win an m 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.920 v P Award, took his game to another level and 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.600 there run to the Super Bowl in two thousand sixteen. 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.320 But Jared Goff, you think about what the na it 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.680 was around that young man coming off his rookie season 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.640 in two thousands. There were discussions of the bust label 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:07.760 with him for as high a draft pick as he was, 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.800 and things were not coming together for the Rams, and 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.360 uh that, as you said, the narrative quickly turned. And 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:16.080 it's in the fact that Carson Wentz was looking like 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.720 the next you know, the second coming of you know, 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:22.960 Johnny Unitis. I mean it was just incredible, Uh, everything 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.040 where things were at im for my money. Mike, You've 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:28.800 been around this game a lot longer than I have, 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:30.560 and I don't want to be a prisoner at the moment. 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.240 But the turnaround, the Rams had just their culture, their 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:38.039 offensive production. What they did from two thousand sixteen to seventeen, 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:40.599 I don't know if we've ever seen anything like it 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:45.040 in the modern era. And then dramatic, he decides, instead 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.920 of just staying in the passenger seat of a very 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.040 comfortable car, I'm gonna go challenge myself. I'm gonna go 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.159 to Tennessee and be my own play caller. Dealt with 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.680 a lot of adversity there, Marcus Mariot are dealing with 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.200 some very significant injuries that he was trying to play through. 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.120 But yet they still found a way. And you take 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.920 all those experiences, what happened in Washington, his one year 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.120 in Notre Dame, what he got reunited with Brian Kelly, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.760 You had the time with Matt Ryan in Atlanta, l A. Tennessee. 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.480 Now he's with the Green Bay Packers. I think it 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.240 is the perfect culmination of all that experience, putting that 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:19.320 to work. Now. Yes, on the resume it says thirty nine, 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:20.880 but if you look at what he's done over the 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.320 last fifteen years and the ladders he's climbed. I mean, 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:26.240 this is a guy with a wealth of information that 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:28.760 he's bringing to this offense. Yeah, it's interesting the phrase 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.720 that you used with sitting in the comfortable passenger seat 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:35.440 of a car, because if he had stayed with the 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.520 Rams as offensive coordinator, Sean McVeigh as the head coach 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.599 is calling the plays on offense there. But with the 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.599 Rams going thirteen and three, being the number two seed 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.360 in the NFC this year and all of that, there's 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.280 a really good chance that Matt Lafleur would have been 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.720 interviewing for a lot more head coaching jobs than than 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:56.479 the Green Bay Packers. It turns out his risky move 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.680 to go to Tennessee to become a play caller for 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:01.719 the first time, to grow as a coach and try 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.800 to advance his own career in that way, in some 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.000 respects it dimmed his prospects because Tennessee's offense didn't light 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:11.159 it up and everything, and and it might have it 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.360 might have shied some teams away. The Packers looked at 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.760 it in a different way. They went behind the statistics, 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.279 They looked at the injuries that were dealt with, all 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:25.560 the circumstances that went into that, and uh, the chance 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.640 that he took in terms of going out of his 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:29.720 own comfort zone and not just saying, Okay, I'm gonna 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.280 ride the coattails of Sean McVeigh and Jared Goff as 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:35.119 long as I can until I get my shot. He said, 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:37.800 I'm gonna go call plays somewhere so that when I 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.000 do get my shot, I'm going to be better for it. 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.360 I'm going to be more prepared for it. That's how 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.120 Mark Murphy and Brian Brian Goudakums looked at this, and 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.320 and I give them credit for it. Now, who knows 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.440 if this is going to work out or not. Obviously 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.360 there's a ton of energy in the building. Everybody's really excited. 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:54.960 I'm excited for Matt Lafleur. When you see a thirty 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.359 nine year old guy up there achieve his dream. He 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:59.560 is a head coach in the NFL, and he's a 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.159 head coach, which for one of the most historic franchises 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.400 in the NFL. It's a it's a great thing to 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:08.840 watch as as a as a spectator. But um, but 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:11.360 this process and and and the way the Packers went 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.600 about it. They talked to a lot of people, and uh, 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.120 there was no doubt in Mark Murphy and Brian Gudakunsen 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.360 russ Ball's mind that Matt Lafleur was the guy for 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.120 the job. Ten interviews that they conducted seven over a 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.760 span of three days last weekend, the last of which 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:28.600 was Matt Lafleur. They mentioned that they went at like 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:31.000 four or five different cities or something like that over 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:33.840 a span of three days. Yeah, but the thing that 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.560 was the most compelling about it isn't and rightfully so, 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.760 sometimes if you're interviewing all those people, the last one 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:41.600 is gonna look the most attractive. So they had to 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:43.960 step back. They had to make sure they took the 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.960 emotions out of it. And when they reassessed a couple 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.000 of days later, yeah, this is the guy that made 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:50.640 sense for the Green Bay Packers. The other thing to 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:52.120 kind of bounce off of what you're talking about a 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.200 couple of minutes ago, he could have stayed in l A. 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.520 They could have had another a lot of success again 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.480 this year, thirteen wins. Uh, certainly look like they're gonna 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:02.000 be one of the front runners here to make a 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:05.440 run at a Super Bowl, but he probably wouldn't have 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:07.920 been as well conditioned to be a head coach if 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:10.720 he stayed there. This way, he did get out there, 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.239 he did get that experience. And Mike, I mean, correct 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:14.880 me if I'm wrong here, But you go back and 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.400 look at the Packers history of when they've had success, 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:20.400 specifically on the offensive side of the ball, it's been 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.160 when they've had a head coach that's being the play 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:27.120 caller coaches coach Mike McCarthy, play caller Mike Sherman during 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.680 the best run that he had in Green Bay was 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:32.120 when he took over play calling again from Tom Rosalie. 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:34.320 You look at you know, Mike Homer and these guys. 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:38.360 This is how they get to this level. If this 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:40.280 is the way you coach, if this is the way 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.680 you play, if this is the way you work when 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:44.920 you get to that top job, why would you change 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.080 what you are? Tiger doesn't change its stripes, right, So 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:51.120 from that regard, I think for him to get out there, 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.640 put himself out there, be a play caller, gained that experience. 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.440 When you're sitting down in that interview, then as he said, 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.280 you can have that manual, you can have everything laid 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.360 out what it's gonna take to be a head coach 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:06.440 in this league. The GM, the CEO president you're talking to, 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:08.400 they're gonna throw that in the middle of the table 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:09.640 and they want to hear what you have to say. 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:11.800 They want to hear about your experiences. I'll tell you what, Mike, 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.520 do you listen to Matt Lafleour go through how he 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.400 got to this position, the continuous upward climb that he's 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.319 been on. It's impressive because whether it was his intention 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:26.080 five ten years ago or not, he checked all the 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.880 boxes to afford himself this opportunity. Yeah. And when you 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.720 look at the Packers history, as you mentioned this last 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:37.079 quarter century plus of the success, the revitalization that began 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.160 with Ron Wilf and Mike Holmgren and whatnot, Mike Holmgren 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.840 didn't have any previous NFL head coaching experience when he 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.439 was hired. Mike Sherman didn't, Mike McCarthy didn't. The only 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.640 one who did was Ray Rhodes, who only lasted one 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.560 year and was gone after an eight and eight season. 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.000 And in this quarter century plus, the Packers have had 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.200 numerous playoff appearances. I believe it's seven trips to the 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:01.960 NFC Champion Chip Game, three trips to the Super Bowl. 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:06.080 So this this fits with how the Packers do things. 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:09.200 It's about it's about seizing the moment and seizing the 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:13.880 opportunity with somebody that they believe is ready for that 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:16.599 next step. And yes, is there a risk, is it 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:20.080 taking a chance on somebody who maybe hasn't proven himself. Yes, 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.040 But at the same time, if you let somebody else 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.000 take that chance, they're going to reap the reward in 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:25.920 success if they're the ones who were right. And if 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.680 you were sitting on the sideline because you because you weren't, 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.319 you know, willing to stick your neck out there. Absolutely, 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:33.160 I know you're a big gambler. I know it. I 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.000 see it in your eyes. But if you're sitting in 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:38.120 a blackjack table, the dealer isn't showing his hand. I mean, 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:40.679 it's it's it's how these things go. Probably a poker 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.800 analogy have been more suitable there. But be that as 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:45.720 it may, you don't know what you're getting. The whole 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.360 life is full of box of chocolates. Approach to this thing, 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:50.560 you have to go off your gut instinct. And Mark 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.360 Murphy said from the very beginning of this. He's been 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.760 through these things before. He did it at Colgate, did 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.320 it at Northwestern, He's done it with the Green Bay Packers. 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.320 You have to trust your process, you have to trust 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:03.360 the people, you have to trust the voices. I thought 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.920 one thing that was really enlightening. Murphy laid it all 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.560 out there in terms of what their process was, sitting 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.560 down with the Packers leadership council, with the players in 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:13.280 that locker room, what do you want out of the 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.520 head coach? A process that him and Brian Goodkins both did. 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:18.560 They pulled in a lot of different people, and in 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:20.760 the end they felt that they found a guy they 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.280 felt would be the right fit for this organization. Even 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.640 put him on the phone with Aaron Rodgers to discuss 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.319 this offense and where he wants to take things. And 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:30.600 we'll talk about this going forward to Mike. But the 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:32.760 fact that you know he did work with Matt Ryan. 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.000 He had to prove something to Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.400 had been in the league for seven years already at 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.920 that point, and it's and had been been to multiple 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.839 playoff games that appeared in NFC Championship games and all 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:47.320 that before the Dan Quinn and Kyle Shanahan and Matt 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.440 Lafleur era began there on the offensive side. The same 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.000 thing that Mike McCarthy had to do when he had 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:53.640 to prove himself to Brett Fare, when he had to 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.520 prove himself to Joe Montana. Same thing when you look 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:58.600 at all these different coaches in the league that have 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:01.880 worked with veteran quarter acts or veterans at any position. 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.760 You need to show that you can coach. He's done that, 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:06.760 He's proven it, and now he's going to be working 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:09.200 with another m v P quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, who 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:10.679 I had to be honest with you, Mike. As much 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.960 success as the Packers have had over the last thirteen years, 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:16.240 there is a lot to be said for Aaron Rodgers 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:18.360 now at thirty five years old, getting a chance to 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.760 operate in a new system. It's a you know, things 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:23.840 like this don't happen a lot, so getting a chance 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:26.360 to see what he can do now, taking his skill set, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.559 what he's done to this point in his career, getting 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.720 a chance to marry it now with Matt Lafleur's scheme 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:32.800 and system. I think it's an exciting thing and it's 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:34.079 one of the reasons why to get off to the 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.560 beginning of her show. There is that real tangible energy 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.160 that you feel in the building. Right Yeah, I want 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:40.720 to get back to that point you just made about 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.160 Rogers in a second but but first year West. The 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:47.720 powerful noise canceling technology that helps NFL coaches block out 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.319 eighty thou screaming fans can get you closer to the 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.880 music you love. Learn more at www dot bos dot com. 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:58.360 Slash Packers Bows the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.160 and at Homer Here in the stands. We all know 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:01.960 that Green Bay fans give it their all and that 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.440 takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:07.240 of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.920 of Packers fans everywhere. Try the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.360 Just visit your local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup, 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:18.040 Official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, we 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.160 know this all revolves or very much revolves around Aaron 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.200 Rodgers in terms of the immediate future here of the 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.160 Green Bay Packers, And what I think is interesting because 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:32.160 this was my gut feeling going into this coaching search 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:34.600 from the minute the Packers decided to part ways with 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:37.520 Mike McCarthy. In my mind, I was feeling like, if 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.200 you look at this as we're on the back third 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.880 of Aaron Rodgers career, just say, I don't know, I 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:44.599 don't know. I don't know if saying back half that 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.560 might be asking him to play a little bit too long. 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:48.600 But if we say that, if he's on the back 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:51.440 third of his career, what's it going to take to 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:56.640 maximize this final stretch of Aaron Rodgers career? And in 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.040 my mind it was like, you know, do you have 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.600 to give him something completely new and challenge him? You know, 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.760 this is one of the most competitive guys I've ever 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:11.480 been around. He's competitive at everything, ping pong, Jeopardy, and football, 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.360 you name it. So if you're gonna if you're gonna 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.760 hand him something called the playbook or whatever, if you're 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.960 going to hand him something and challenge him and say, Okay, 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.320 you're one of the best that's ever played this game, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.680 apply your Hall of Fame talents to this, let's go. 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.280 I think I think that's the best way to really 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.760 maximize on whatever it is that Aaron Rodgers has left 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.200 here before he retires and heads off to Canton, Ohio 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:42.520 at some point. So I like this approach from the Packers. Yes, 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.080 there's no guarantee it's gonna work. There's no guarantee that 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.680 anything that the Packers were going to do here was 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:49.520 was going to work. That's why you have to go 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.360 through the process, as you said, and trust it. But 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.520 I think Aaron Rodgers is potentially going to be re 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.000 energized and revitalized by the challenges that are now going 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:00.840 to be placed in front. If you know anything about 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.200 covering Rodgers, being around Rodgers, these are the type of 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.720 things that he really embraces. And the fact that you 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.320 cannot discount this either, Mike. The Packers finished six nine 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.560 and one last year. Aaron Rodgers is not feeling great 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.680 about that. He wants to win. There's probably nobody in 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.440 this league maybe has ever walked through this particular building 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:21.480 that's wanted to win more than Aaron Rodgers has. So um, yeah, 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:23.480 you know again, I don't want to put words into 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.440 his own mouth. We'll hear what he has to say 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.240 in April during the offseason program or everything else comes 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:33.720 out before then. But just knowing one that the packers 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:35.840 did the best they could to include as many different 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.120 voices as they could in terms of trying to understand 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:42.520 what this team needs, what do they want, What do 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.920 we need to do to put themselves back in a 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:48.440 situation of dominance? You want to get back to that 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:53.560 different plateau. That is not easy to attain, but it's 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:55.760 something that I think if you have that open communication, 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.960 if you have that dialogue, it's going to be there 0:15:58.000 --> 0:15:59.480 for you and I one of the things that I 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.040 was really in us with And I don't know what 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:04.000 outside media and and pundance are going to do with this, 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.560 but I really did enjoy what Matt Lafleur said about 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.360 you know, there's a big playbook. There's a lot of 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.800 plays in that playbook. If there's something you don't like 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.040 in that playbook, you don't feel comfortable running, tell me 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.280 will use something else. And I think to some extent, 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:20.360 you know, people can be like, well then that's so 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.880 and so trying to dictate things. No, Mike, you and 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.600 I discuss things on a daily basis, right, We write stories, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:28.760 we do things. Hey, how do you feel about this? 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.000 What do you want to do here? Do you want 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:33.960 to do something like this. Yeah, because if you're just 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.160 sitting there saying, hey, Wes, I want you to like 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:38.560 go around the office and and start you know, or 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:41.320 going around Green Bay and start collecting setting new sales 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.480 ads and things like that. No, I don't want to 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.960 do that. I wasn't paid to do that. I'm paid 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.720 to write. I'm paid to do this show. I think 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:52.440 it's really important to know what the whole barometer is, 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:55.200 what the landscape is, what do you feel comfortable with, 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:58.680 particularly when you're coming in with a new scheme with 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.520 a quarterback that you have coached before. That's what the 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:03.840 next three months are going to be about this coaching staff, 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.960 once it's developed, trying to set the place, trying to 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.760 set the plan, and then once April first comes around, 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.200 implementing that and getting that vision down. And just based 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.680 on their short interactions so far, again only a testimony 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:18.639 at this point in time to the floor, it sounds 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.920 like everybody's on the same page from that regard. Yeah, 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:24.400 it certainly looks that way, and we'll see how things 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:28.040 come together. Now. Matt Lafleur's number one job in the 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.240 immediate future is to build his coaching staff. He didn't 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:35.240 really get into any specifics in his introductory news conference 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:37.719 on Wednesday as far as that goes, there are some 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:41.680 reports out there about some coaches that he may retain. Um, 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:43.959 he didn't get into that. He said he is planning 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:46.159 to sit down with some of the members of the 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:51.600 Packers coaching staff from including defensive coordinator Mike Petton. So 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.000 we'll see how that evolves. And those are things that 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.520 we can discuss on on future shows as we get 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.000 the news of those decisions. But I think this is 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:02.840 something where he's, uh, he's going to act quickly and 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.920 swiftly and get this staff built because it's because now 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:10.639 it's about building that offensive playbook potentially you know, seeing 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.840 seeing what's there defensively, um, a special team's playbook, all 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.000 of that, because he's in charge of the whole show now, 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:19.199 it's not just it's not just the one side of 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.000 the ball. And he's also gonna want to have some 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:25.720 conversations potentially with Brian Goudakunst about Okay, here's what I 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:27.800 see on the current roster. These are the kinds of 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:31.040 things I'd like to do so in free agency, in 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:33.920 the draft, or there's are there some types of players 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.280 maybe we can target to to fill in some gaps 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.639 and fill in some holes as you uh as the 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.560 Packers transition to a new system, certainly offensively at least. 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.080 So there's there's a lot of there's a lot of 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:48.320 work to be done and and quite frankly, he doesn't 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:49.720 have a whole lot of time to do it. No. 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:51.680 I mean you think back to the first couple of 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.200 years of Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy. Uh. Ted Thompson brought 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.960 in Charles Woodson. Mike McCarthy had to coach Charles Woodson. 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.919 You have to be able to have that dialogue in 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.560 terms of what are the players we feel and need 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:05.399 to be here and how are we going to go 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.840 about using them and being able to maximize their talents. 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.120 That's the next step. Honestly, I think this the next 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:13.960 couple of weeks here, however, the shuffles out with the 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.280 coaching staff trying to finalize that. I've always felt this way, 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.399 it's one of the most important times of the season 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:21.880 because you're gonna have time to set down, sit down 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:23.800 and figure out what you want to do for a playbook. 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:25.960 You're it's not as much time as you used to 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.080