GREEN BAY – The Packers’ offensive and defensive assistant coaches met with the media over the past couple of days. Here’s a sampling of their key comments.
Passing game coordinator Jason Vrable
On the adjustment for rookie WRs:
The biggest thing I would say is the playbook. The majority of college teams probably (use) maybe a third of (an NFL) playbook, maybe a fourth. They’re more about going fast all the time. Some of the receivers only stay on one side of the field. So, there’s an adjustment with that. The next-biggest thing is actually the fundamentals. A lot of these guys just make up for fundamentals at times with athletic traits, which is great but at the NFL level that’s usually not going to result into success over time. It might take a guy three months, six months to really feel comfortable and be elite at a stance and start and not just be slow off the rock. It’s a day-by-day grind for them.
On Dontayvion Wicks moving on from last season:
I think early in the year, he wanted the results so bad. He wanted to catch the ball and score. He was getting open, and then he would have a bad drop and everybody would be so upset over him and he’d be down on himself. I think he really learned to just handle one play at a time. It just happens to some guys. They want to score four touchdowns. They want to have 120 yards. And sometimes like early on in your career you could be open and Jordan doesn’t look there. Or when he does, you have a drop and then it weighs on you. I think he’s matured so much. And you saw at the end of the year when the ball was coming his way there was a real confidence toward the end to get open and make the play. And just do one play at a time. If you watched our practices, the speed that he’s playing at, coach Getsy just came back here and was like, ‘Man, this guy is so fast. And he’s practicing so hard.’ And you can see it. He’s in Year 3, and he knows the system, he’s playing with confidence and the energy’s been awesome right now.
On the addition of Mecole Hardman:
First and foremost, he’s been very coachable. He’s not like a vet who is stuck in his ways. He’s been an open book. He’s won what, three out of five Super Bowls. So you talk about experience, I mean, no one else in this building has ever been to five. So he’s been through a lot but he wants to be coached. He wants to get his career back to what he was before he had the surgery and the injury, and he’s been busting his butt. You can definitely feel the speed out there.
Offensive line coach Luke Butkus
On what Jordan Morgan has shown to compete at LT:
How athletic he is, how easy he moves, how smooth it looks. Sometimes it looks like he’s not straining or playing hard. I think it’s just natural. It’s easy for him to move, to gain ground, to skim the blades of the grass. It’s effortless, where for a guy like me it looks clunky and robotic. I really like where he’s headed and the direction he’s going.
On Aaron Banks:
Aaron’s played at a high level for four years, five years. He brings a little bit of veteran leadership, he played for a good offensive line, a really good football coach in San Francisco. So little things like that he can help with the details of the game, things that he’s seen when he’s played compared to some guys that have only played a few snaps here and there. He’s been great. He’s learning our system right now and our language, but you can see him getting it pretty fast and also bringing guys along.
On the next step for Zach Tom:
Zach is a heady, smart player. He understands his body I think better than anybody else. So I’m going to give him the tools and help teach him, but he’s a really smart player. He does things that just come naturally to him. I’d like to take credit but I don’t think it’s me.
Zach will be the first one to tell you he wasn’t happy with his season last year, but that’s just who he is. We’re never comfortable, we’re always hungry, we always want to get better.
Tight ends coach John Dunn
On Luke Musgrave battling back from injuries:
He’s doing a great job getting back. Every year’s a new year. He’s had a couple setbacks during the season due to no fault of his own, but it’ll be fun to see. The more he can do, the more we will do.
For him it’s just playing the game. This is a game where you have to play it, especially at that position.
On getting the ball more to Tucker Kraft:
He’s a guy that’s shown whether it’s down the field, intermediate, at times it’s at or behind the line of scrimmage – obviously he was doing quarterback sneaks – there’s screens that he was highly involved in. You can be as creative as can be. The great thing about Tuck is he’ll do whatever you ask him and he’s working his tail off to be a complete player, so you can get him the ball in different ways, whether that’s route running, different types of routes, where you put him. That’s the cool part is it’s really limitless in terms of where you line up and how you can get the football.
Running backs coach Ben Sirmans
On MarShawn Lloyd after a tough rookie year:
I think he’s in a much better spot. Mentally, he’s pretty sharp there in the classroom. He’s moving around pretty good out there on the football field. Obviously we’ve got a lot of high expectations for him because he brings a different blend to our offense just with his speed and quickness. I’m pretty pleased with him so far and looking forward to getting him out there in a real game situation.
On Josh Jacobs in his second year here:
The guy is a dawg, not just the way he carries the ball, but also just his presence. Being around really good running backs, they have a presence about them on the field that kind of permeates throughout the team through their game play as well as when they’re in the locker room. Because besides the quarterback, you’re touching the ball probably more than anybody else out there, so you can affect the emotions of the team more than anybody else. He’s been everything that we would hope for and definitely the engine for us offensively.
His quickness right now, his cutting ability, going through drills, exploding … I mean, he looks better this year than he did last year at this time. The way that he practices is the same way that he plays. He’s looking to set the tone every opportunity he gets and to try to get people to follow and match that type of mentality.
Wide receivers coach Ryan Mahaffey
On Matthew Golden and Savion Williams as blockers:
Willing. Both very willing. Both those guys were asked to do different things within the offense … to move around and play multiple positions. As you’re evaluating tape, that’s an important piece of what we do. Those guys are an extension of the run game and often times they’re going to be at the point of attack, so you need to be able to evaluate what’s their power like at the point of attack, and then as much as anything, blocking is a mindset. Both those guys demonstrated on their college tape that they’re willing to be face tough and willing to go in there.
On reducing the drops:
To me all those guys understand, they’re competitive. As we’ve gone through, we have conversations about what we need to improve on. Those guys have an understanding that hey, when my number’s called, I want to put myself in a position to be able to go out and help my team. They’re naturally competitive. They take a lot of ownership in that, and I think we’ve got an intrinsically motivated group.
On Jayden Reed:
Jayden’s been amazing out there. Just even yesterday, there was a clip where he’s back there talking and having conversations with Matthew Golden. He’s out there pouring into the rest of the guys on the team. He’s bringing great energy out on the field. He’s a real joy to be around each and every single day. He works hard. He cares about his teammates. He wants to see other people do well, and it’s been fun to see Jayden, as he’s continued to grow, being able to expand his leadership skills and pour into others.
Quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion
On what background as a QB brings to the position:
I’ve been really blessed throughout my playing career to get to play for a long time. I think that’s an asset that I have in my arsenal that really (helps) a quarterback room. I was really lucky throughout my playing career to cross paths with a number of great coaches. For me, I always knew that this would be the next step, so I really attacked my playing career with this kind of in the back of my mind, soaking up as much knowledge as I could to weaponize it for this new role I’m in here now.
On learning from Tom Clements:
Tom was a great mentor for me to work with last year, to just be around in the QB room was awesome. Such a unique thing, for him to have his fingertips on three great quarterbacks in one organization. To me, Tom was just the picture of stability, being a stable presence in the QB room, even-keeled at all times. There’s a lot of stuff that the quarterback position has to juggle, but he was always a stable presence. And then just the focus on the details and the fundamentals, you know he was a great example of that. Really, I was writing notes all the time just thinking about when I would get the opportunity to be in that role.
On re-learning this offense:
I was with Matt (LaFleur) in LA in 2017 so … schematically there were some similarities and things have evolved since then, too, so when I first got here last year, there was learning to do as well. But I think the big thing was just our vision of the quarterback position was in perfect alignment because when Matt got there with coach McVay in ’17, that was a really transformative experience for me in terms of learning how to play the position. I know as a player, it helped me greatly and again, having this in mind, it was always like, ‘Oh this is how you teach the quarterback position.’ I got to learn that from Matt directly.
Defensive line coach/running game coordinator DeMarcus Covington
On what he saw when he reviewed the Packers’ 2024 film:
When I looked at it and came into this place, I told (Jeff Hafley), ‘This is a unit that plays fast. This is a unit that plays fast and runs to the football.’ When you turn on the tape, you see a talent group that runs really, really fast. I told him, ‘You should definitely be proud of that, and we need to continue to hold that standard.’
On his past connection with Hafley:
When he was the head coach at Boston College and me being in New England, they invited us into their practices during the spring and then the same vice versa we invited them into our practices during OTAs. We never built like a personal relationship, but just the respect level of me going to sit in his team meetings and watch him practice and watch him run his team. Then the same thing, he would come to our organization and watch us how we operate. You gain mutual respect for one another by the way he works.
On the benefits of having been a defensive coordinator:
It opens up your eyes of when you’re, even now as a defensive line coach, I don’t see the game as just a defensive line coach. You’re talking to a guy who played offense in college, a guy who coached multiple positions, so I don’t see the game just as a defensive line coach. I see it from a coordinator’s perspective, too, so that helped me, that experience doing it and calling it and getting the real game experience.
Linebackers coach Sean Duggan
On Quay Walker’s play toward the end of last season:
I think it was just starting to get more comfortable in the scheme, right? The more you do certain things, you’re going to get better at it. You’re going to start to anticipate plays instead of reacting to plays. He’s going to be more comfortable just because it’s every time now is the second or third time he’s heard something, and then just playing with confidence, going out there knowing what you’re doing. Now, you’re looking at the offense, seeing all right, they’re in this formation, I’m expecting this, so I can play a step faster.
On what he sees in Ty’Ron Hopper:
I think I got a guy that’s going to come downhill and hit you. He’s a big, physical guy. He embraces contact, he enjoys the physical aspect of the game. I think he’s learning too. He’s more comfortable now in Year 2, just like all the rookies are. It’s the second time they’ve gone through an offseason. So they know to expect. He’s come back, he’s in great shape, he’s moving around. He knows what he’s doing now. So he looks good.
On Isaiah Simmons:
I see a really hungry player. He’s a very eager player right now, and he’s extremely athletic. I think his versatility is going to be something that’s pretty special. I don’t think you see a lot of 6-4 guys that are 240 pounds that can run a 4.3. But I see a guy who, just like everybody, he’s putting his head down. He’s working, he’s trying to learn the defense. He’s learning the way we do things here.
Defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley
On Kalen King:
I don’t want to speak too soon, knock on wood, but he’s looking really, really good out there. He’s playing inside and out. Kinda like the light has gone off for him and he looks more springy in his step. He’s changed his body. His mind is at ease and he’s just jumped into this thing full speed ahead, man. He’s been very impressive and we’ve just got to continue to get that kind of day-to-day performance out of him.
On Nate Hobbs:
Like Hobbs a lot. Like him a lot. When I was in LA he was coming out of Illinois. Loved him then and all he’s done is become the same player that we saw in college. He’s physical, he’s strong, upper body and lower body. He’s very heavy-handed. He’s got an alpha personality. He listens. He’s been a good teammate to some of the younger guys, encouraging those guys. Him and Carrington (Valentine) are obviously friends from high school and they actually have the same trainer, and him and Keisean (Nixon) played together in Vegas. So he came in here with some guys that he knew – Josh Jacobs, obviously. He’s done a really good job fitting in with the group.
On the next step for Carrington Valentine:
CV, he’s one of my favorites. He plays the game the right way. He’s smart. He works at it, it means a lot to him, and the next step is just to make routine plays look like routine plays. He’s very strong at the point of attack. He’s got good speed. He’s tough. Just making those routine plays down in and down out, I think he can take a big jump this year as well.
Defensive backs coach Ryan Downard
On what’s next for Xavier McKinney and is he still hungry after making All-Pro:
Yeah, he does still have the hunger, to answer that question. What’s next? I don’t know what’s next. Just trying to keep him focused on each day. I know that’s cliché, but that is what I’m trying to hammer home with him. We’ll see what’s next. I know we’ve got a lot of aspirations and goals, but focus on this day and then at the end of next year we can look back and see what did we accomplish. That’s been the approach with him. But yes he’s still very hungry. Yes.
Absolutely there’s more that he can improve on. That’s the challenge laid out for me is how do I keep trying to stretch this guy to continue getting him better. But his attitude, he’s ready for anything and everything. He just wants more and more.
On what you learned about Javon Bullard and Evan Williams as rookies:
That’s a long answer. We knew with Javon he had the positional flex, he had the versatility. We knew that, and we verified that last year. I knew coming out both those players were smart players. That’s what we try to go after at the safety position, and versatile players. The ability to play in the box, play in deep zones, tackle and get the ball. We saw that they have that ability. Javon, he did a great job playing violently. I mean, that guy plays the game the right way. He addresses blocks the right way. We saw it in Week 1 and we saw it throughout the season. Evan, obviously just his ability to process was very high for a rookie, which I think the better that is, then the faster they are able to grow, and the moment that sponge gets filled up with water it’s hard to continue pushing them. They’re kind of at that point for the first year. Both those guys have really good play recognition and play recall. Once they have it, they’ve got it, and you show them one time, the play, and they have that rep, and you come back the next time and they nail it.
