Packers tweak offensive coaching staff & hire one new defensive assistant

Until Monday afternoon, there was still a theoretical chance that individuals wanting a major shakeup on the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff would get their wish. However, that is no longer the case; today, Mike McCarthy announced his coaching staff for the 2017 season, and that announcement includes just three changes from the 2016 group.

Only one new faces is actually coming to Green Bay, however. That is Tim McGarigle, who comes to Green Bay from the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he coached the linebackers in 2016. McGarigle played college football at Northwestern before being drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2006. He played just 12 games in the NFL, all with the Rams in 2007, and made six tackles. He will be the team’s defensive quality control coach, a position which has been a springboard to more significant jobs for numerous Packers assistants during McCarthy’s tenure.

McGarigle is the only new face on the defensive coaching staff for a team that finished with the 21st-ranked scoring defense and 22nd-ranked overall defense.

The other two moves involve coaches from the team’s 2016 staff getting new job assignments. David Raih, the team’s assistant offensive line coach last season, has a new title as “offensive perimeter coach.” We don’t yet know what that means, but we will try to find out from McCarthy on Wednesday at the Scouting Combine. The other move involves Raih’s old job, as Jeff Blasko moves from a coaching administrator role to the assistant offensive line coach job.

All in all, the minor moves ensure continuity in a coaching staff for a team that did reach the NFC Championship Game in 2016. The results were sometimes unpleasant - especially on defense - but it is clear that the Packers value consistency and continuity among their coaches and scheme. We will see in a few months how these decisions play out.