Of the Green Bay Packers’ last 13 first-round picks, 12 have been on the defensive side of the ball. With a legendary future Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, the Packers knew that the key to maximizing their Super Bowl window was to improve on defense and give the offense a chance to win every game. Unfortunately, that investment has fallen flat. Despite annual offseason hype, Green Bay’s defense has never taken that long-awaited step.
Defensive coordinators have come and gone. Fans have celebrated their firings boisterously as if the path was then clear to become the unit they’re destined to be. That’s where we are in the cycle.
Like Mike Pettine and Dom Capers before him, Green Bay let Joe Barry go on Wednesday. For much of Packers Twitter, it was as much of a consolation as Matt LaFleur could provide after Saturday’s loss added to the playoff heartbreak anthology that feels like it may have no epilogue.
As I just mentioned, 12 of the last 13 first-round picks have been defenders. Jordan Love is the one exception, of course. The heir to the throne. As head coaching vacancies begin to fill around the league, it appears that LaFleur will have his pick of dream candidates who have the potential to do for Love what his predecessors couldn’t do for Rodgers.
With the Atlanta Falcons’ surprise hire of Raheem Morris and the Carolina Panthers hiring Dave Canales, the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks are the only remaining head-coaching openings. Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason called Ben Johnson to the Commanders “a lock” on his show. That makes sense, given they’re poised to welcome a promising young quarterback into the fold at the top of April’s draft.
Dan Quinn created Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” and has long been considered the favorite there. It remains to be seen whether Green Bay’s drubbing of his unit in Dallas will change that. But he and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald feel like safe bets. John Schneider knows he has to deal with Shanahan and McVay in the division for the foreseeable future, and a respected, defensive-minded coach feels like an apt counter.
That leaves the cycle’s most high-profile candidates on the outs: Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. Today’s announcements also indicate that Carolina Panthers DC Ejiro Evero is poised to return, and a lateral move could be appealing given the state of that franchise.
His popularity during this cycle was characterized by his success in doing a lot with a little, which typically tempts decision-makers to see what he could do with a lot. Green Bay really does have a lot to work with. Looking at the pieces that Brian Gutekunst has put into place, stars like Jaire Alexander and Rashan Gary flank rising talent like Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Quay Walker, and Lukas Van Ness.
Evero also has the most ties to the opening. He worked with LaFleur in Los Angeles and interviewed for the position before they hired Barry in 2021. Former Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard was reportedly LaFleur’s first choice. Now he’s a senior analyst at Illinois, and it remains to be seen if there’s any sort of traction there.
Packers fans would certainly have an appetite for Evero’s philosophy: “You’ve got to affect the quarterback. If you can’t get there with four, you’ve got to bring five, and if you can’t get there with five you’ve got to bring six.” The most prevalent criticisms of Barry were his soft zone coverages and his lack of appetite for blitzing.
While Evero worked with Barry and his scheme in Los Angeles, he’s bound to bring the more aggressive approach that Green Bay has been sorely missing. Paired with the impressive metrics he put up in Carolina, he’s as complete a candidate as LaFleur could ask for. Whether he can lure him away from the comedy show that David Tepper presides over in Charlotte remains to be seen.
As for Belichick and Vrabel, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported Wednesday that “even if Vrabel is willing to take a DC job, it’s not going to be in Green Bay.” He did not elaborate, and it’s unclear which side that came from or why.
Interestingly, Schneidman posted a picture of LaFleur and Belichick together at one of August’s joint practices, hinting that Atlanta going with Morris makes Belichick a realistic possibility. Would the greatest coach of all time really take an assistant job under a millennial? It’s hard to say. Belichick is used to even more control than just head coach; he was also the general manager in New England. Green Bay can’t offer him more than a shred of that power, but he may not have better options if he wants to coach next season.
LaFleur’s search promises to be wide-ranging and interesting. After all the pain caused by Capers, Pettine, Barry, and the missed opportunities they’ve overseen, the fanbase will certainly be on edge as the process plays out. When the Packers hired Barry about two years ago, there was instant pushback and anger that only intensified once his work was out there.
This time around, there’s no shortage of high-ceiling, low-floor, experienced candidates who could end the madness and lead the Packers to top-10 finishes on both sides of the ball. There are also some landmine candidates, like Brandon Staley, Rex Ryan, and Ron Rivera. Of the dream outcomes, it is Ejiro Evero that feels the most realistic. Regardless, it’s up to LaFleur to get one of his guys in what will be, dare I say, the first major decision of the Jordan Love Super Bowl window.
