1/17/2007
Coaching Changes Maintain Continuity On Offense,
Connection With Defense
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 01/15/2007
Keeping together an offensive coaching staff that helped the Packers finish ninth in the league in total offense in 2006, Head Coach Mike McCarthy filled his first coaching vacancies on Monday by staying in-house. On the defensive side, he also designated a longtime colleague to be his right-hand man as an assistant head coach. McCarthy promoted Joe Philbin to offensive coordinator to replace the departed Jeff Jagodzinski, who left to become the head coach at Boston College at season's end. James Campen was moved up to take Philbin's former role as offensive line coach, and Jerry Fontenot was retained as an assistant to Campen on the offensive line. "Consistency was something that quite frankly we did not have as a football team, particularly the first half of the season," McCarthy said. "This enables us to continue to build." Meanwhile, Winston Moss was promoted to assistant head coach/defense. The Packers linebackers coach in 2006 who coached with McCarthy for five seasons in New Orleans, Moss will continue to oversee the linebacker position while expanding his interactions with the entire team to include development and administrative issues. "When I first put the staff together last year, that was the one position that I went back and forth on, whether to do it or not do it," McCarthy said regarding an assistant head coach. "In hindsight, I didn't err, but I think it's a position that's needed." The continuity being maintained with the offense and offensive line is particularly important for the Packers because of their youth in those areas and the new zone-blocking scheme that was implemented in 2006. Green Bay broke in four rookies on offense last year - receiver Greg Jennings and offensive linemen Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll. Those rookies made a combined 49 starts, led by Colledge with 15. The offensive line started two rookie guards, Spitz and Moll, in the season opener for the first time in team history, and all three rookie linemen started on Oct. 22 in Miami, the first time the Packers started three rookies on the offensive line since at least the 1970 league merger. The chance to build on what they've already established in their young careers is clearly a positive for the players. "It just makes for an easy transition," Colledge said. "We'll be able to come back into work and it will be good for everyone. We're used to the system, we'll be running the same offense. For everyone it just makes it easier to do your job." For Philbin, the move continues a steady series of promotions since he joined the Packers' staff in 2003 as an assistant offensive line coach. For 2004 and 2005, he added tight ends to his assistant offensive line duties, and then last year McCarthy hired him as the offensive line coach. This will be Philbin's first coordinator position in the NFL, but he was an offensive coordinator three times during his 19-year college coaching career. Philbin held the dual position of offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Allegheny College (1990-93), Northeastern University (1995-96) and Harvard (1997-98). -- More
Philbin is new face of offense
Offensive line coach to take over as coordinator
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
Mike McCarthy's choice for his new offensive coordinator ended up being the presumed front-runner all along. McCarthy finished a two-week search on Monday by promoting offensive line coach Joe Philbin to replace Jeff Jagodzinski as the Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator. Like Jagodzinski, Philbin's main role will be presiding over the Packers' zone-scheme run game. Though McCarthy said he talked to numerous colleagues around the league and interviewed candidates other than run-game specialists, he in the end chose Philbin, who has been highly regarded by the Packers since his first season as an assistant offensive line coach under Mike Sherman in 2003. "I think everybody felt, 'Hey, this would be great,' when (the opening) initially happened," McCarthy said. "Now, going through the process validates that I made the right decision." McCarthy also promoted his other two offensive-line assistants, elevating James Campen from assistant offensive line coach to offensive line coach and promoting Jerry Fontenot from an entry-level offensive coaching position to assistant offensive line coach. The moves keep intact the team of linemen and coaches, aside from Jagodzinski, who went through the growing pains of a major change in the run-blocking scheme and playing three rookies extensively on the offensive line last season. The Packers finished ninth in the NFL in total yards, tied for 22nd in points and 23rd in rushing. That full season of experience for the players and coaches should give the run game a running start going into this offseason, after starting from scratch last year at this time. "Sure," Campen said. "Just as far as knowing the plays and understanding the plays and having the group together. The most important thing is that group of guys in that offensive line room, they're character people, all of them. That's important. They care about their job, they care about each other, they care about their teammates." McCarthy spent the last two weeks interviewing candidates and talking to coaches around the league about the coordinator job. He wouldn't identify any interviewees, though quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said after the season that he was interested in the job and presumably made his pitch to McCarthy. McCarthy spent last week at his second home in Texas and said he not only spent extensive time on the phone but also flew down a couple of candidates. Though he said he interviewed candidates with passing-game expertise, McCarthy decided he needs a zone run-game expert as his offensive coordinator, because he handles the passing game. Philbin all along appeared the most likely choice after the two worked together all year. -- More
Online petitionersBeg Favre to keep playing
Press-Gazette
Green Bay Packers fans have gone to the Internet to try to convince Brett Favre to return for one more season as quarterback in 2007.
They've started at least two online petitions.
The larger one, entitled "Brett Favre Cannot Retire This Year," has more than 2,500 signatures.
It's at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/number4/index.html
Part of its plea: "We ask that you come back for just one more year, and take us back to the promised land. ... You, Brett Lorenzo Favre, must come back for one more year and end this chapter of your thrilling career, and make one last run to the Super Bowl."
The smaller one, entitled "Brett Favre 07/08," has more than 500 signatures.
It's at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Favre0708/index.html
Part of its plea: "We, the Green Bay Packers fans from around the world, would love nothing more than to see Brett return for the 07/08 season and provide one more year of the most exciting football played in the NFL. It will be a sad day when Brett does retire, however, we are not ready for that to happen quite yet!" Favre, 37, said after the Packers' season finale on Dec. 31 that he expected to decide "soon" on whether he'd return for his 16th season as the Packers' quarterback. In 2005, he waited until March 10 to announce his return. Last year, he waited until April 25, four days before the NFL draft, to say he'd be back.
Cheerleader of the Day --
Valerie
Indianapolis Colts
Published by PackerPundit On Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 6:24 AM.
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