Packers confirm coaching staff changes & titles for 2018 season

On Wednesday morning, the Green Bay Packers and head coach Mike McCarthy finally confirmed the team’s coaching staff for the 2018 season, and there are a few surprises in the team’s press release.

Although most of the individual hires had been well-known already, with reports circulating in the media for weeks, the actual composition of the staff was still a bit unclear, as were a few names at certain positions. A few of the names on this year’s staff, particularly on the defensive side, may actually come as a surprise given the reports out of Green Bay in recent days.

The most significant changes overall are the hires of new offensive and defensive coordinators: Joe Philbin and Mike Pettine. However, those jobs were reported weeks ago, and should come as no surprise.

Next up is the overall structure of the staff. Instead of simply having position coaches working under the coordinators, McCarthy has implemented the titles of run game coordinator and pass game coordinator on both sides of the football. The first indication that this would be the case was the report of Joe Whitt’s promotion from cornerbacks coach to defensive pass game coordinator; however, this apparently is a concerted effort by McCarthy to have an individual on each unit responsible for the two areas.

On the offensive side of the ball, James Campen gets the run game coordinator title added to his offensive line coaching responsibilities. Meanwhile, his pass game counterpart is Jim Hostler, the former Colts wide receivers coach, who is not explicitly coaching that position in Green Bay.

For the defense, Whitt does indeed hold the pass game coordinator position, and newly-hired Patrick Graham gets the run game coordinator title along with the responsibility of coaching the inside linebackers.

Another pair of interesting items involves the team’s retention of two individuals on the defensive staff — one who was reportedly taking another job and another who was perceived to be leaving. Jerry Montgomery, who had accepted a job as the defensive line coach and associate head coach at Texas A&M, is apparently returning to Green Bay after all to coach the Packers’ defensive line. Meanwhile, Winston Moss remains in Green Bay in the same position he occupied previously: associate head coach and linebackers coach.

One name that is conspicuously absent from the list is Darren Perry, the team’s former safeties coach who reportedly remained under contract for 2018. However, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Perry still has an open offer to return should he not find another job elsewhere.

Here is the complete coaching staff as it currently stands for the Packers for the 2018 season under head coach Mike McCarthy.

Offensive Coaching Staff

• Offensive Coordinator: Joe Philbin
• Offense - Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach: James Campen
• Offense - Pass Game Coordinator: Jim Hostler
• Quarterbacks coach: Frank Cignetti, Jr.
• Wide Receivers coach: David Raih
• Running Backs coach: Ben Sirmans
• Tight Ends coach: Brian Angelichio
• Assistant Offensive Line coach: Jeff Blasko

Defensive Coaching Staff

• Defensive Coordinator: Mike Pettine
• Associate Head Coach/Linebackers coach: Winston Moss
• Defense - Pass Game Coordinator: Joe Whitt, Jr.
• Defense - Run Game Coordinator/Inside Linebackers coach: Patrick Graham
• Secondary coach: Jason Simmons
• Defensive Line coach: Jerry Montgomery
• Defensive assistant: Scott McCurley
• Defensive Quality Control coach: Ryan Downard

Special Teams Coaching Staff

• Special Teams Coordinator: Ron Zook
• Assistant Special Teams coach: Maurice Drayton