WEBVTT - #264 Packers Unscripted: New-look coaching staff 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:20.919 M Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.840 I am Mike Spofford and he is Wes Hodkowits were 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:26.920 coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:30.640 and West. It's finally here, the day we've been waiting 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:35.400 for talking about the Packers new coaches on the coaching staff. 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:39.240 Mike McCarthy making all the announcements official a little earlier 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.040 this week, so it's time to dive into some of 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.800 the details here. And I want to start with defensive 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.000 coordinator Mike Patton because he's probably, you know, as far 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.960 as his level of position, a more unfamiliar face to 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.240 h two Packers fans and Um. He made quite a 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.000 first impression in his opening news conference. I thought Um 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.600 showed a little bit of sense of humor, but also 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:06.399 showed that he is very much a no nonsense football guy. 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:08.720 And I think this is going to be an interesting 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:12.000 defensive coordinator for pack for the Packers and for Packers 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:13.960 fans to get to know. Yeah, Mike, and we're gonna 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:18.320 have months, weeks, all this time ahead between this day 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:20.199 and the start of training camp to start the regular 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:22.480 season to talk about his scheme, but I want to 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:26.640 start off with Mark Mike Petton the individual, and let's 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.240 let's be honest here, Mike, he has big shoes to fill. 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:33.040 From a media obligation standpoint, dom Caper's is one of 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:34.880 the best there is in the business in terms of 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.720 dealing with on a day in and day out basis. 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.760 My good friend Darren Gant, who covered him during his 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.400 time with the Carolina Panthers as the head coach. Darren 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.800 doesn't say anything nice about anybody. He loves dom Capers 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.080 because he's just a true gentleman. So from that perspective, 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:52.000 I think there actually was some big shoes for him 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.680 for Mike Petton to walk into that auditorium and to 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:56.919 become the new face of the defense, and I thought 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:59.840 he hit it absolutely out of the park. You had 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:01.880 so a great comment about this afterwards too, and we 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.880 were talking. He managed to hit on all the big points, 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.520 the big questions that you knew that were coming, complicated scheme, 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.720 you know, revigorating the defense, and he was able to 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:15.079 provide answers without making them sound like something you get 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:19.480 off a stock quote sheet. Yeah. Uh. He was very personable. 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:22.880 There's a human aspect to him and I just thought 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.440 over those fifteen minutes, I said this an insider inbox 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:27.960 on on Thursday. I just felt he won the press 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.360 conference because he gave you an idea of who he 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.600 is as an individual, where he comes from. And also, 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.200 I think, based on just hearing him talk for fifteen minutes, 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.320 a good idea of why players have gravitated towards him. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.639 And he's been successful in this league. Yeah, he's certainly 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.079 been plenty successful. He's had a handful of top five defenses, 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.440 coaching both the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.400 He was obviously the head coach for the Cleveland Browns 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:54.000 for a couple of years in a really difficult situation 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.120 with the whole Johnny Menzel thing and a lot of 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.359 stuff that he had to deal with. There wasn't really 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:02.000 put in a position to succeed, just be honest, um, 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.720 but took a couple of years off. Was involved in 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:08.000 kind of a consulting gig for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.760 last year, kind of working from home but staying in 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:14.880 touch with NFL film and evaluating players and and evaluating 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:17.920 teams and schemes, and decided to to jump back into 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:22.240 the fray here, and I know I expected him to 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:24.639 say the whole three four or four three thing really 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.400 doesn't matter. I saw that one coming, and I think 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:29.400 that makes a lot of sense, especially in this day 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.840 and age in the NFL. What really impressed me about 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.680 what he talked about with his scheme that I think 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:38.080 is going to be very interesting to watch going forward 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.240 and how it manifests itself on the field, as he 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:46.400 talked about wanting to be multiple, to look complicated to 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:50.720 an offense, but to not be complicated for his players 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.680 on defense. And I know that's a it's a fancy line, 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.240 it sounds good. I'm sure it's easier said than done, 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:59.720 but I'm really interested to see exactly how that takes shape. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:01.640 Lot of it is the pre snap is what it 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.280 comes back to Mike McCarthy when he addressed the media 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.840 as well on Wednesday, saying they need to start winning 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.120 the pre snap battle. That was an area that really 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.000 did hamper the Packers. I agree with that in two 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:15.040 thousand and sixteen, now you get Mike pett in here. 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.760 It's about presenting different looks pre snap, but also not 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.760 overwhelming your players either, you know, trying to make sure 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.400 that the quarterback doesn't have everything figured out by the 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:26.680 time he snaps the ball, that things are going to 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.680 surprise him and he and you know, Petton hit it. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:33.200 You know he faced it, that question right on, because 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:34.880 I'm sure he knew it was comic in terms of 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.880 the complicatedness of the scheme. I think that became more 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:40.200 of a narrative after the time in Cleveland than even 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.000 it was before that when he was with the New 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.240 York Jets. Even going back to Rex Ryan's defense with 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:49.359 the Baltimore Ravens and understanding exactly what you're trying to 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.360 accomplish as a unit. I mean, you could just sense 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.920 the excitement he has when he looks at this roster. 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.920 He said, the cupboard is not bear. From a defensive standpoint, 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.600 you have veterans Clay Matthews, one of them most versatile 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.160 pass rushers in the NFL. He looks forward to taking 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:08.760 those talent, taking that those players and finding a way 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.800 to make it work within his scheme. And just one 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.840 other further point, Mike, when he did say the four 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.920 three three four debate, I think the Holly Louis heard 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.480 from the back was me because this is a question 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:23.400 that I've said this is a question we get constantly 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:25.680 an insider in box, Well, the Packers be better off 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.159 if they go to a four three. Petton said, they're 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:30.880 playing base defense ten twelve snaps a game. It's not 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.240 a league where you're playing seven hundred defensive snaps anymore 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.440 out of your base defense. It's it's a sub package league. 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.720 And in this new environment after the most recent CBA, 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.880 with the restrictions you have, I think Petton has proved 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.280 that his scheme can succeed in this environment, and it's 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:46.880 one of the reasons why Mike McCarthy brought him in 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.280 as a new defensive coordinator. And one quick point too 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.800 before we go to a break, when he talked about, 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.479 you know, you have your outside linebackers, you can sort 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:56.560 of have that three four concept, but then you can 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:58.880 take one of them, put his hand in the dirt 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:01.320 and sort of then you have more of a four three. 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.800 Look to me, that has Nick Perry written all over it. 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.920 He's the guy. He's he's the guy. He's he's big. 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:09.120 You know, he's got that big lower body. He can 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.720 play defensive end. He can also play stand up outside linebacker. 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:15.719 He's done it. I really think and obviously Nick Perry 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:18.039 needs to stay healthy. We all know about that. I 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:19.919 think Nick Perry might be one of the guys that 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:22.400 Mike Petton is most excited about in this defense. Yeah, 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:24.360 it's a great point, Mike, because there is a lot 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.000 of guys in this defense with a hybrid mentality that 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:30.520 they have, whether it's defensive backs, whether it's linebackers, guys 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:32.839 that can fit different types of schemes and trying to 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:37.359 maximize their ability. You're absolutely right, Perry has to stay healthy. 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.480 But that's one of the reasons why they did extend 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.599 him last year coming off that eleven sex season, and 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:43.240 no doubt with that, we'll throw it to a break 0:06:43.279 --> 0:07:04.000 back with more and Packers Unscripted right after this, Welcome 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.760 back to Packers Unscripted, Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.640 Hodkowitz and that one and west shifting gears to the 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:14.000 offensive coordinator position. As unfamiliar as Mike Petton is to 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:18.480 Packers fans, Joe Philbin a very familiar face, obviously returning 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:22.000 as offensive coordinator. He was in that position for five 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.120 seasons from two thousand and seven to two thousand eleven. 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:29.640 Began actually coaching with the Packers on the offensive line 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:33.160 in two thousand three, before Mike McCarthy even arrived during 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:37.000 the Mike Sherman era. And um, you know, certainly a 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:38.880 guy he's happy to be back in Green Bay. You 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.720 could tell Mike McCarthy is very happy to have Joe 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.040 Philbin back after his four years as a head coach 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:46.960 in Miami and then a couple of years as an 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.520 associate head coach and offensive line coach. Kind of getting 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.480 back to his coaching roots with the offensive line with 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:56.120 the Indianapolis Colts the last two years. But Joe Philbin 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:58.160 is back, and uh, and I think there's a lot 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.559 of excitement because it's sure sounds like number twelve Aaron 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.600 Rodgers is excited to have him back as well. Yeah. 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.080 I mean you talk about a guy that that fits 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.680 what the Packers do here. Joe Philbin is is that 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.560 and then some both as a coach also just as 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.320 a human being. I go back to a conversation I had, 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:17.720 I would say, this was the first time the Packers 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:22.320 played Philbin's Dolphins. I think that was two thou and 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.440 I remember talking to Josh Sitton, former Packers guard now 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:28.840 with the Bears about Joe Philbin, and you know how 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.640 Sitting is. He's gruff, he's he's sometimes kurt. But he 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:34.760 had such an interesting insight into what it was like 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:36.760 playing for Philban because he mentioned, you know, when he 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.840 first came there out of UCF, those two really butted 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:43.240 heads a lot. But by the time Philman had moved 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.640 on to his next opportunity, there was really nobody that's 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:49.560 Sitting respected more. And it just seemed like there's a 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.920 folksy sort of aspect to Philbin. He he's really self deprecating, 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:55.840 mentioning that he's starting to get up there in age 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:57.920 and he's along with some of these older people that 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:00.800 that he sometimes likes to reference. But at the same 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:05.840 time he really can clamp down in coach hard and 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.720 knowing that balance is difficult because you get the players 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.280 coach thing, you get the guys that are are sort 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.520 of these um you know, sometimes can be divisive and 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.720 how confrontational they are. It just seems to me that 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.440 that Philbin has just such a great pulse for where 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:22.480 he needs to be in what he needs to do 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:25.200 to get the most out of his players. And as 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.240 his biggest quote, I thought in my takeaway, and I 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.920 know you wrote about on packers dot Com. The fact 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:33.880 that his job being an offensive coordinator his four seasons 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:36.480 with the Dolphins really opened his eyes to the challenge 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:38.880 that Mike McCarthy has weekend and week out, and now 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.000 that his Now that he's back, his two main goals 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.280 is to help the offense score points and make Mike 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.480 McCarthy look like the smartest play caller in the NFL. 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:48.080 And he's ready to do that again here. Yeah, this 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.800 is a guy who is a coach through and through. 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.840 And I don't care what position if you're calling him 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:56.439 an offensive line coach, calling an offensive coordinator, a head coach, 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.360 and associate head coach, He's a coach through and through 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:01.719 because the one we hear from Mike McCarthy, probably more 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.320 than anything else about Joe Philbin when it comes to coaching, 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:07.839 is he's a teacher. And and that's why I think 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.040 that's what players gravitate toward in a sense, because they 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.200 know this guy is going to show me how to 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:15.520 do it. Then it's up to me just to execute 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:17.080 it and do it. But I know that this guy 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.640 knows how to get it done, so I need to 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.640 learn it and figure it out. And the other thing that, 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.800 uh that you know bears mentioning with Philbin as well, 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.199 because he was asked about this if he had any 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:31.360 reservations whatsoever about coming back to Green Bay. And for 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.760 the fans who aren't necessarily familiar with the story. Back 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:36.760 at the end of the two thousand eleven season, the 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.800 Packers were fifteen and one, had a first round by 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.400 getting ready to play the Giants in the Divisional round 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:44.199 of the playoffs at lambeau Field. In just a few 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:48.800 days before that game, one of Joe Philbin's adult sons, Michael, 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:53.480 tragically drowned in an accident in the Fox River and 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.840 lost one of his I believe six children. Um, just 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:02.800 a tragic thing. And UM, not long after that, you know, 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.160 the Miami Dolphins came calling, wanted him to be a 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.640 head coach. It was a big family decision and everything, 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:09.959 and they decided to to make that leap as a 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:13.520 family to go to South Florida. So obviously you could understand, 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.000 and he even said it's very, very emotional to come 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.880 back to Green Bay, but he also balanced that with 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.760 all the people that he knows here that he cares about, 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.360 that care about him and his family, and that remember 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.600 him from the time here, and he just felt like 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.520 the timing was right to come back. It may not 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.079 have been right at other other times to to try 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.679 to come back to Green Bay, the timing is right now, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.600 and he sounds like a guy who's pretty excited to 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.840 move forward. Yeah, Mike, and obviously your father, I'm now 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.880 a father. Um. I just I go back to two 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.840 thousand eleven and I remember seeing Philbin during that day. 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.080 I was just a little quote taker at the press box, 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.679 just working game days, doing the home locker room. I 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.600 remember seeing Philibin and just thinking, Oh my god, what 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:54.960 this man must be going through right now. I could 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:57.880 I couldn't. I couldn't even imagine it at the time. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.000 Tragic situation. But the one thing that I took away 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:02.800 from that, and you referenced it a little bit when 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.480 we were discussing this at the press conference, how his 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.520 family really pulled together at that time and you know, 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.800 this is all going on. The Packers are in the playoffs, 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.560 the Miami Dolphins are potentially knocking on his door as 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:16.880 a head coach, and how they really grab you know, 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.120 they gravitated towards each other and they leaned at each 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:21.880 other during that time and now, as Philbin said, every 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.240 decisions he's made, he's taken to his family into account, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:26.640 whether it was going to Miami, whether it was going 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.040 back to Indianapolis, and now coming back to Green Bay. 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.000 I think And Mike McCarthy said that the first thing 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.679 he asked was him and his wife if if they're 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.480 going to be comfortable with that aspect of it. And 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:39.440 I still I think there's an element. I don't want 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.560 to put words in Joe Philipin's mouth, but I just 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.959 feel like this is they're thinking, and this is that 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.160 this is where we need to be, and this is 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.640 you know, like the connection that they feel with Green Bay. 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.040 In some ways, it's almost kind of tranquil in a 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.200 way that that they're coming back and now having an 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:57.160 opportunity to finish what he started with the Packers. Yeah, 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.760 and he even mentioned that, you know, he asked his 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.360 water of all of his children, he has just one 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:04.240 who's still at home. She has one year of high 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.240 school left to go. And he said, you know, if 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.480 my daughter had said, Dad, I really want to finish 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.640 high school in Indianapolis. I don't want to move again 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.600 right now, he said, he probably wouldn't have come to 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.760 Green Bay that that. You know, they're all in as 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:19.200 a family wherever they go, you know, with with regards 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:23.240 to uh, job decisions, to other family decisions, and uh, 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:25.800 you know, but um, his daughter was on board, his 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.680 wife was on board, and uh and you know, green 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.520 Bay is is glad to welcome Joe Philbin back as 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.280 well as his entire family. And the tip of the 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:36.040 cap to his daughter. I don't know her name offhand, 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:37.960 but I mean that's as he said, that's her third 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.000 high school in four years. That's not easy for a kid. 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.360 But it just again shows you how tight knit that 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:45.959 family is and how much I'm sure she realizes to 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:48.760 what this team in this community means to her father. 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:50.320 All Right, with that, we're going to throw it to 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:52.800 a break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after 0:13:52.840 --> 0:14:14.480 this Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.160 Hodkowitz over there, and west quickly kind of an overview 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:20.920 of the rest of Mike McCarthy staff as it stands 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.920 right now. We've talked about the offensive and defensive coordinators, 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:26.400 but a new structure to things in the sense that 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.040 on both sides of the ball. Mike McCarthy now has 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.480 a run game coordinator and a pass game coordinator for 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.760 both the offense and the defense. On offense, your run 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.640 game coordinator is James Campon, who will also continue to 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:43.040 coach the offensive line. Your pass game coordinator is Jim Hostler, 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.840 who worked with Joe Philbin on the offensive staff in 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:50.520 Indianapolis over the last couple of years. On the defensive side, 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:54.240 Joe Witt Jr. Is your pass game coordinator. The Packers 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.120 cornerbacks coach for a number of years. He actually interviewed 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.280 for the defensive coordinator job, but Mike McCarthy to decided 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.320 to go with Mike Petton and then run game coordinator 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:05.840 on defense is Patrick Graham, who was also going to 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:09.560 coach the inside linebackers. Worked on Ben mcadoo's staff with 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:11.440 the New York Giants the last couple of years, and 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.520 before that was on the New England Patriots defensive staff, 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.680 coaching both defensive linemen and linebackers at some different times there. So, 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:21.800 from a structural standpoint, what do you make of this? 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.400 With these titles? The thing I enjoyed the most about 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.120 this because I had basically a chance to ask everybody 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.000 about it, and I know you talked to Patrick Graham. 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:31.480 I didn't get over to him, but it was interesting 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:33.760 to me that the coaches who are returning the guy, 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.080 you know, James Camping and Joe Witt had a very 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.320 clear idea of what this is gonna mean and what 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.960 this is going to accomplish. Jim Hustler was a little 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:42.840 bit more Okay, we gotta wait and see, you know, 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:45.160 in terms of things. But I'll say this, Joe Wit 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:47.400 knows exactly what he wants to do in this role. 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.160 And and he did say, you know, he was disappointed 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.640 that he didn't initially get the defensive coordinator job, but 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:54.760 Mike McCarthy went out of his way during the news 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.440 conference to really praise him for the job he did. 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:00.400 Uh and and kind of checking all the boxes that 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.000 what McCarthy was looking for, but going with a little 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.480 bit more experience with Mike Petton and enjoy Wait agrees 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.640 it's the right move. And the thing that really sold 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:09.360 him on that is the fact that he and Petton 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.120 both put their playbooks down and he saw so much 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:14.800 synergy between the two of them, uh, in terms of 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.000 what their core philosophies are and what they look to 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:21.120 accomplish with past defense. Patton emphasizes past defense and his 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.360 his scheme and to some ways, you can make a 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.440 case that it's almost the opposite of what dom capers 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:27.320 want to accomplish with a run for you know, stop 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.000 the run first mentality. UM. I don't think either one 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.240 is right or wrong, but it really fits to what 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:35.800 what is looking for. And basically the biggest aspect of 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:39.520 that is going to be tying the cornerbacks, the secondary 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.480 and those coverage linebackers together under one voice, with one 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.320 vision and in hopes of improving communication at the end 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.560 of the day with all these positions. I think that's 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:50.480 what it comes down to. Yeah, it is. It's about 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.880 having It's about having communication within the structure so that 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:58.080 all levels of your offense, your defense. UM, guys don't 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.680 just go into their into their side loads, into their 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:03.840 individual position meeting rooms and learn things a certain way 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.679 and then you get out on the practice field or 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.840 out on game day and you know, maybe not everybody's 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.720 quite on the same page. Not to say that people 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.440 are playing the game differently, but it's all about trying 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:16.720 to develop more cohesiveness and Mike McCarthy even said on 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.320 the offensive side, you know, he and Joe Philbin are 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.880 working on essentially rewriting the playbook, almost starting over from scratch, 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:24.840 like he's a first year head coach again back in 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.800 two thousand six and and really building things from the 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.879 ground up. And uh. And on the defensive side, we've seen, 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.320 we've seen, you know what lack of communication can lead 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.600 to on game days, you know, missed assignments and all 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.280 it takes in this league is being a half a 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:40.919 step behind, a half a step slow in a certain 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.720 reaction because the communication isn't quite there, where the understanding 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.280 isn't quite there, and then big plays happen, and so 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.040 the Packers are trying to trying to shore all those 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.879 things up. Also, just to to touch on some of 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:57.880 the others um new coaches coming in Frank Signetti Um, 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.960 whose relationship with Mike McCarthy actually goes way back to 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.720 the late nineteen eighties at the University of Pittsburgh is 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.320 when they first met one another, at least somewhere back 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.399 in that in that timeframe. He is the new quarterbacks coach. 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:13.760 David rye Um, who has been an offensive perimeter coach, 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.880 is now specifically the wide receiver's coach. Jason Simmons, who 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.520 has been here as an assistant special teams coach, is 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:24.600 now actually a secondary coach on defense, and then his 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:28.440 assistant special team's position has been he's been replaced by 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:32.679 Maurice Drayton, if I have that name correct, um. And 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:36.399 then also Jerry Montgomery, who we thought was leaving for 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:38.640 Texas A and m has decided to come back and 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:42.200 be the defensive line coach in place of Mike Turgovac, 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:44.560 who is now with the Oakland Raiders. So I don't 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:46.920 know if that covered everything. I probably missed somebody on that, 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.560 but uh um, But yeah, a lot of changes. There 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.200 hasn't been this much change on Mike McCarthy's coaching staff 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:54.199 since he got here. There hasn't. But the thing I 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:56.880 like about it, Mike, is it brings in some new perspectives. 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.240 It's not like they just overhauled the entire coaching staff. 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:02.080 Defensive wise, there's still a lot of same guys offensively. 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.840 James Campin has been there for fifteen years now, so 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.040 it's just bringing new ideas together. And even though there 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:10.080 are new people coming in like Signetian Hustler, all their 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:12.240 webs kind of tie together a little bit too in 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:14.520 terms of how they've come across this thing. So I 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.800 think for the Packers will really benefit from it. All Right. 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.240 With that, we're going to go to a break back 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:39.000 with more and Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.720 to Packers Unscripted Mike Spofford alongside Wes Hodkowitz and West 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:44.920 Before we go. Another thing to touch on. We heard 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:48.399 from Mike McCarthy for the first time since the whole 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.320 restructuring at the top with with Mark Murphy essentially being 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:58.120 the individual that russ Ball as executive VP of Football Operations, 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.040 Brian Gudak instas general manager or and Mike McCarthy as 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.280 head coach, they will all report to him. McCarthy kind 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.560 of jokingly, although maybe he wasn't totally joking, but said 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:09.679 in the last three weeks he's talked to Mark Murphy 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.720 more than maybe he did in his first twelve seasons here, 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.920 and we know from Mike McCarthy he loves having more 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.679 open lines of communication. I think this is something that 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:20.879