Packers finalize hire of Shawn Mennenga as special teams coordinator, per report

On Wednesday, news broke that the Green Bay Packers were closing in on Shawn Mennenga as their next special teams coordinator. On Thursday, reports indicate that he has the job.

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky has the news that the Packers have offered Mennenga the job and that he has accepted it. That is the final major piece for head coach Matt LaFleur on his first coaching staff in Green Bay. The team will still round out its staff with a few other assistant coaches, likely including a special teams assistant and several quality control coaches, but all of the primary position coaches and coordinators are finally locked in.

Expect the Packers to formally announce the hire soon.

Mennenga worked for Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine in Cleveland, serving as the Browns’ assistant special teams coach before, during, and after Pettine’s two-year tenure in 2014-15. That connection likely played a role in him being on LaFleur’s radar, though another link exists from that same period: LaFleur’s former boss and colleague Kyle Shanahan was Pettine’s offensive coordinator in 2014. Either or both of those men may have recommended Mennenga for the job.

Despite having just one year of experience as a special teams coordinator — and doing so at Vanderbilt University — the Packers will count on Mennenga to lead a massive turnaround in the third phase of the game. Ron Zook’s units finished dead last in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings in 2018, which was a primary reason the team let him walk. Hopefully Mennenga can indeed lead a rebound as the Packers try to get back to playoff contention.