Packersnews.com | Green Bay Packers | Insiders Blog " Alford interviews with Packers. It probably helps Tony Alford's career to be interviewed by the Green Bay Packers, even if he was set on remaining a college coach.

Kareem Copeland assumed Alford was interviewing for the vacant tight ends coach, but Jason Wilde thought Joel Hilgenberg was the likely replacement. It might seem odd to have an ex-offensive lineman like Hilgenberg coaching tight ends, but the Packers have been drafting tight ends known for their receiving in college (Jermichael Finley, Andrew Quarless, etc.) and teaching them how to block. It might actually be a big benefit to Finley to spend more time with a former NFL lineman.

On the other hand, the real value in these players are their ability to catch a pass. And based on the 2011 season, receiving skills are something Finley needs to work on. I don't think they're going to do his development wrong no matter the background of his new tight end coach, the key being that they've got to find a good one.

Green Bay Packers news | Walden takes plea agreement in misdemeanor case | Green Bay Press Gazette. I don't know if this helps Erik Walden's chances of sticking with the Green Bay Packers, he can't avoid the fact that he faded down the stretch, but his November arrest shouldn't interfere with his NFL career. Even if he doesn't return to the Packers, I expect he'll be playing somewhere in the NFL next season.

If he stays out of trouble for the next twelve months, the entire incident will be "erased from the records" in Brown County.

Seahawks Re-Sign OT Breno Giacomini - Field Gulls. After hiring a new head coach, former Packers executive and current Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie is starting to purge the bad contracts of Al Davis. If the Raiders stop handing out bad contracts like the unforgettable Javon Walker deal, some other team is going to take over the NFL lead in this category.

The Seahawks have gotten off to a questionable start by agreeing to pay ex-Packer practice squad player, T Breno Giacomini, an average annual salary of $3 million ($6 million total) over the next two years. He does appear to have improved over the past couple seasons in Seattle, but he's still regarded as a backup. And $3 million per season is pretty high for a backup.

At least they have a good reason for it. The Seahawks do need some depth they can count on because their projected starters, LT Russell Okung and RT James Carpenter, have had trouble with injuries so far in the NFL careers.

The Seahawks aren't close to becoming the next Raiders, but I'd have spit out my Spotted Cow if I'd read about the Green Bay Packers paying $3 million per season for a backup lineman.

Vikings stadium: Season ticket question* - NFC North Blog - ESPN. Nice catch by one of Kevin Seifert's readers. While many teams, including the Green Bay Packers, announced ticket prices last week, the Vikings have been quiet because their lease is up at the Metrodome. Are they going to play at TCF Bank Stadium or the Metrodome?

I expect it'll be the Metrodome. They don't have plans finalized for a new stadium, which is most likely to be built on or near the existing Metrodome site, so the wrecking ball shouldn't hit in 2012. I want to see the Vikings work this out, and I don't know who exactly deserves the blame, but their stadium plans continue to be poorly run.

I wouldn't expect the Green Bay Packers to attend either of their pro day workouts, but they should be in the market for a new quarterback to replace Matt Flynn. They'll certainly be taking a look at some quarterbacks during the scouting process.

Maybe Andrew Luck feels obligated to hold a workout for scouts, but I don't see what the point is. Are the Colts not going to draft him? Might they be willing to trade down? If Luck has a poor workout, would the Colts consider drafting someone else? I can't imagine anything happening other than Luck to the Colts.

Robert Griffin III will certainly be a high draft choice, maybe No. 2 overall if the Rams find a trade to their liking. I like Justin Blackmon but a package of three or four high draft choices for Griffin might be too good to pass up. He actually could use a strong pro day to his advantage and find himself right behind Luck in the draft.

As for a quarterback the Packers might draft, since they had success with Flynn as a 7th round pick, maybe they should take another one at the end of the draft. CBS Sports mentions a couple guys who might be worth a 7th round pick: Boise State's Kellen Moore and Houston's Case Keenum. Obviously they aren't great prospects, but we're talking about a 7th round pick. They also graded Yale's QB Patrick Witt as a 7th rounder, but that guy comes with some major baggage.

There is only one unrestricted free agent for the Green Bay Packers that I haven't written about yet. In the 2008 draft, GM Ted Thompson traded out of the first round and back into the second. With their own pick still in hand, and an additional one from the Browns acquired in the Corey Williams trade, the Packers now had three second round choices. The first one was a great success (Jordy Nelson). The second one was a colossal bust (Brian Brohm). And the third hasn't been a great success, but he's been on the roster ever since: CB Pat Lee.

That was a pretty modest haul for three second round picks, but at least they did manage to find Jermichael Finley in the third round.

The scouts saw something in Lee, and it looked like he could play man coverage in the NFL. He played a little in his rookie season before a knee injured landed him on I.R. A preseason knee injury ended the 2009 campaign before it could even begin. He didn't play much upon his return in 2010, but he replaced Sam Shields for a while during the Super Bowl and he wasn't a liability.

It probably says a lot about him that while the secondary was falling apart last season he was still never able to crack the rotation. He played in all 16 games on special teams, and only recorded 10 tackles for the season. He barely held onto his roster spot entering the 2011 season, but I can't imagine they'll be asking him to return in 2012.

BBAO: Recalling the Andy Reid model - NFC North Blog - ESPN. It's been mentioned in the comments that Ben McAdoo is following a similar path as Andy Reid did in the 1990s. From the NFC North Blog:

Andy Reid was an offensive lineman during his playing career and coached the Green Bay Packers' tight ends and offensive linemen for five years until then-coach Mike Holmgren switched him to quarterbacks. The move worked for the Packers, Reid and quarterback Brett Favre alike, and it's a model -- coincidental or otherwise -- that current Packers coach Mike McCarthy followed this winter.

I don't exactly know what makes a good coach. Great players don't often make great coaches. And forgettable players sometimes make great ones.

Another good example is Mike McCarthy's career path. After he played tight end in college at Baker University, he worked his way up through the coaching ranks to become a quarterbacks coach with the Chiefs and Packers. Then he became an offensive coordinator, and eventually a head coach. I don't expect the Chiefs thought after they hired him in 1993 to be their offensive quality control assistant that he'd one day become a top offensive mind and a Super Bowl winning head coach.