We told you earlier Monday of the firing of Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders. It was hardly a surprise, but the fact that head coach Mike McCarthy waited a full week after the end of the season made it possible that he had someone specific in mind to take over.I mentioned then that former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan was close to McCarthy, and there were already rumors that he was a candidate for the gig.
Now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that Nolan is rounding up defensive assistants, and he is preparing to become the Packers' new defensive coordinator.
While this is certainly good news for Packers fans, as Nolan is an accomplished defensive coach, things aren't all rosy. There are some serious questions that surround this potential move.
Namely, what scheme will the Packers play?
Greg Bedard and Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a great job outlining the potential candidates in the newspaper's Packers Blog.
One of the issues with Nolan is that he would (likely) bring the 3-4 defense to Green Bay. But do the Packers have the personnel to make a 3-4 work without drastic changes?
As Bedard notes, the secondary is a non-issue. The Packers need to find a reliable safety to pair with Nick Collins, but that would happen if the Packers employed a 3-4, a 4-3, or a 3-3-5. Cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson are both expected back, and nickel back Tramon Williams is likely to benefit from new coaches all over the defense.
Bedard is correct in saying that the real square peg/round hole problem with the 3-4 is on the defensive line.
The defensive ends (in the 3-4) are big strong guys that must hold their edges and in passing downs, hopefully take up a few blockers. It's a thankless job.Would the Packers trade Kampman? Unlikely, but Nolan could be in for a challenge making him fit. Jenkins should be an easier fit than Kampman.
Aaron Kampman does not fit that mold. Sure, he could bulk up but why would he want to? He's one of the top players at his position. Even if he lost weight, he's not fluid enough to play outside linebacker. Cullen Jenkins would also have to gain some weight. He wouldn't want to either, for the same reason. Both could be valuable in the trade market.
Then again, all of this means nothing if Nolan is flexible and is sticking with the 4-3. He could probably work blindfolded and call a more effective defense than Sanders did.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-06-2009 @ 12:47PM
Dave said...
Anything will be an improvement over Sanders, His record as a defensive coordinator is deplorable. Having said that, I'm not certain Nolan is a good choice either, especially given the fact he may want to change the scheme sans the personnel necessary to make it work.
In either event, my bet is if McCarthy has a repeat 6-10 season, or finishes under 500, he may be looking for work with the rest of his staff as well. The loss of Favre was a major hit and McCarthy did not do well with his new QB. A vanilla defense made things worse to be sure, but the Packers have to produce more offensively as well.
Nolan is going to have to produce right out of the box so we should all hope he's flexible enough to adjust where he has to.
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1-07-2009 @ 8:01PM
Bill said...
The offense and in particular Rogers did well in most aspects. Two makeable field goals cost 2 games plus a couple of defensive stops in a couple of other games and they would have been in the playoffs. Special teams was also brutal to say the least.Rogers may not have engineered any late game heroics but he was still ranked pretty high on the quarterback list and the Packers offense was also ranked pretty high.
1-06-2009 @ 7:49PM
Grinder said...
Corey Williams is laughing somewhere right now.
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1-07-2009 @ 1:23PM
Saintgeorge14 said...
Yeah, I'm sure Corey Williams is laughing. He's on one of the 8 teams that did worse than the Pack this year, and his entire coaching staff is being replaced.
1-07-2009 @ 6:17PM
Daniel V said...
Terrible move, he has been fired everywhere as a D cord. sorry but its because he cant earn the respect of his team. Redskins fired him, Jets Fired him and than he gets Head coaching job. WTF he needs to look for a telecasting job because this will be short lived
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1-08-2009 @ 10:00AM
Dave said...
QB and offense rankings are, in my opinion, meaningless. We all witnessed Rogers choke in a couple of situations. No indeed, no late game heroics from him either. In a sense, I feel for him, he has a big pair of shoes to fill and will be judged, fairly or not, by the standards of his predecessor. The defense gave away more than one game and squeaked by in a couple of others. None of this changes the fact Nolan must be flexible and able to innovate. All the talent in the league isn't worth a dime if you don't know how to use it. After taking a hard look at Nolan's record, there are some big question marks about his ability. Still, he isn't Sanders and that is a positive.
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1-09-2009 @ 6:02PM
nevadapackerfan said...
When are the packers going to fire the head coach. they fired all the defence but missed the right person
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1-10-2009 @ 2:12PM
mike said...
if indeed the packers hired nolan thats a big mistake they should have gone after williams who has a better trach record and can mix the plays up offense in not a problem as much as i hated to se farve go but the one thing that has to ahpppen is they need to go after big name f/a and why the have thompson that will not happen so i guess what im saying is he should have been the first one shown the door !
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1-11-2009 @ 9:12PM
Gerry said...
Brett Farve is gone get over it, This team needs a pass rusher and run stopper. Rodgers, will make Packer fans smile again!!!
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1-12-2009 @ 3:12AM
brent613 said...
It seems as if this could be bad news for the packers after all. The hiring of McDaniels as the Broncos new head coach means Nolan is a big candidate for coming to Denver. Looks like Green Bay will have to try again.
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