Packers fire DL coach Mike Trgovac & LBs coach Scott McCurley

Former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the first victim of the team’s coaching refresh this week, but shortly after reports of his release came out on Monday, the Packers let a pair of assistant coaches go as well.

Per multiple reports, the Packers have parted ways with defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and assistant linebackers coach Scott McCurley. These moves come as a bit of a surprise, especially since the Packers’ run defense was the strength of the unit this season. The Packers finishing 8th in the NFL in yards per carry allowed and 8th in run defense DVOA.

Trgovac joined the Packers in 2009, at the same time that Capers was hired, and has coached the defensive line ever since. Before his hiring, he had spent six years as the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator, leading a unit that finished in the top ten in points and yards in three of those six years. Under Trgovac’s tutelage, Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark have become one of the best defensive tackle tandems in the NFL, making his firing somewhat surprising.

McCurley has been with the Packers since 2006, the same year that Mike McCarthy was hired as the team’s head coach. He started as a coaching intern, working his way up to his current position over several years. McCurley worked primarily with the inside linebackers and helped to oversee Blake Martinez’s breakout season.

Although the Packers have released these two individuals from their duties, the team is reportedly interviewing some of their defensive assistants for the vacant coordinator job, including safeties coach Darren Perry and cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt, Jr. However, with uncertainty swirling given Ted Thompson’s reported decision to step down from the GM job, that will likely shift the timeline back from the DC search as the team is unlikely to make that hire before replacing Thompson.