Which Packers Assistant is the next to Become a Head Coach?

Could Tom Clements be the next Packers assistant to become a head coach?

Could Tom Clements be the next Packers assistant to become a head coach?

John Schneider to Seattle. Reggie McKenzie to Oakland. John Dorsey to Kansas City.

A lot of talented executives have left the Packers front office for general manager jobs with other teams over the last three years.

Joe Philbin has been the only Packers assistant coach to land a head coaching gig in that time period. Philbin departed as offensive coordinator and took over as Miami’s head coach after the 2012 season.

There’s plenty of talent on the Packers coaching roster. Linebackers coach Winston Moss and safeties coach Darren Perry have been loosely linked to head coach openings in the past. Current offensive coordinator Tom Clements is also highly regarded for his role in the Packers’ offense and the development of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Edgar Bennett has received some publicity lately as a firey up-and-comer. Kevin Greene is also an intense guy that could catch the eye of a general manager who wants a motivator as a head coach.

It’s impossible to predict which way the wind will blow on the assistant coach open market. One season an assistant might be the next big thing and a cinch to become a head coach. Then his team falters, he doesn’t get offered a head coaching job, and we never hear from him again.

Even Dom Capers was whispered to be on some team’s head coach lists after the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Can you imagine anyone offering Capers a head coaching job now? Doubtful, but if the Packers make a drastic turnaround on defense, you never know.

I consider myself an obsessive NFL fan — not just a Packers fan — and even I never heard of Mike McCarthy when the Packers hired him. Now, he’s one of the most successful head coaches in franchise history.

If I had to guess, I’d guess that Tom Clements gets a shot at being a head coach before any other assistant. Guys that understand offense and the quarterback position will always have an advantage in today’s NFL. Based on what little I know about Clements, he also seems to have the demeanor to be a strategic and level-headed coach.

But that’s just a guess. If you told me Moss or Bennett would make better candidates than Clements, I couldn’t argue with you. I’m just hoping that all of the Packers coaches do such an awesome job in 2013 that they all might end up as head coaches in 2014.

Which Packers assistant will be the next to become a head coach?

Winston Moss0%
Tom Clements0%
Edgar Bennett0%
Dom Capers0%
Kevin Greene0%
Darren Perry0%
Other0%


 

16 Comments On “Which Packers Assistant is the next to Become a Head Coach?”

  1. None.

    These guys all suck – every one of them. No one here worth hiring. Just move on, nothing but a bunch of humps here. Couldn’t coach their way out of a wet paper bag.

    Are they gone yet?

  2. Given that MM calls the plays and supposedly arranges the plays, I am not sure what Clements really does in our offense. I believe that Philbin had more input than we realize.

    The guy on the list that really impresses me is Darren Perry. If you ever hear his interviews, he sounds like a head coach. His results over the years with a thin secondary unit and little pass rush have been pretty good.

    I noticed that James Campen isn’t on this list. Are we all thinking the same thing?

    • “Given that MM calls the plays and supposedly arranges the plays, I am not sure what Clements really does in our offense. I believe that Philbin had more input than we realize.”

      You do realize this is also what people said about Philbin before he left, right? Why would there be a drastic change in responsibilities just because he left?

      • No, I didn’t know that. I just felt that there was a noticeable drop in the performance of this offense after Philbin left. Whatever Philbin was contributing, it was working.

        • Drop in offensive production was on field like nothing but cover 2 D. It wasn’t related much to anything coaching could do.

  3. I too like Perry but prefer that he stay in GB. Promote and develop for future head coach to replace MM in a few years.

    Not sure about Clements and agree on Campen.

  4. It has to be Moss because he has some title he’s had forever? Moss isn’t even a coordinator, which is where virtually all new NFL HC’s come from. I don’t think any of these guys are head coaching material, including Capers. But, I’d go the OC Clements as the most likely—see Joe Philbin.

  5. Nobody from our defense, especially Winston Moss. What has he ever done? He’s an ILB coach and we use two top picks on ILB (Barnett & Hawk) and they both suck. So let’s promote him? Are you people crazy? He should have never been hired. Remember, he was the guy that Bishop that he would have to leave the Packers if he wanted to become a starter. He was better than both starters when idiot Moss uttered those words.

  6. Kevin Green shouldn’t even be mentioned in this article. GB is his first real coaching job. He was kickin’ around get his feet wet with the Steelers as an intern for one year before being hired by the Packers..

    Darren Perry’s star is burning white hot, but he will first elevate to DC somewhere in the league, and it’s said he’ll be a damn fine DC by a certain Mr. LeBeau… He may end up doing the DC thing for years.

    The guys who are most likely to become HCs soonest are the guys who already have been.. Trgo, Capers. Outside of that, it would be nice to think “Clements”, but he’s only had 3 years experience as a OC, total.

    Winston Moss certainly has had interviews in recent years, but it may just be to satisfy the Rooney rule requirements. Doesn’t seem like he’s had much real interest, but who knows. For what it’s worth, he *is* titled as “ILB/Assistant Head Coach”, but quite frankly, that sure looks like a ploy to make sure that MM doesn’t have to let Moss go unless he gets offered a HC job-(assistant coaches are allowed to break contract and defect to another team if the job offered is a promotion.. In other words, a position coach (ilb coach, for instance), could leave his current contract if another team offered him a coordinator role, but not if they offered him a job as the ILB coach, or D back coach, etc).

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