It’s still early, however, it’s not hard to see why Matt LaFleur hired Jerry Gray to coach the Green Bay Packers secondary. Coach Gray has checked all the boxes so far during his short tenure, and the players are responding. It might be too soon to say for certain, but it definitely feels like LaFleur picked the right guy to get this secondary to perform at a high level.

Initially, the Gray hire raised some eyebrows. He had no ties to defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and previously coached the Minnesota Vikings secondary for the last six years. According to sources, Pettine had very little input in the decision to bring in Gray, which is somewhat odd. Nevertheless, LaFleur made clear he was looking to add a new perspective to a defense that had just surrendered 285 yards on the ground in the NFC championship game. 

Gray is entering his 23rd season in the NFL. His track record is proven, having been around many great secondaries in Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington, and Buffalo. Gray is even credited with tutoring the likes of All-Pro safeties Harrison Smith, Earl Thomas, and Sean Taylor. Hopefully, Green Bay’s 2019 first-round safety Darnell Savage is next in line.

Besides mentoring great safeties, defenses associated with Gray have performed quite well over the years. In the last six seasons, the Vikings have finished in the top five in scoring defense, total defense, and passing defense with the help of Gray. 

The Packers are hoping Gray will continue to bestow his wisdom upon their young group of defensive backs to build a better defense. While Green Bay’s secondary was solid under the respectable Jason Simmons, LaFleur believed something was lacking and decided to go with a more experienced candidate in Gray.

According to Green Bay’s top corner Jaire Alexander, Gray’s knowledge is already rubbing off on him and others.

“Coach Gray has a great deal of knowledge,” Alexander said via Zoom. “I mean, it’s endless. I could listen to coach Gray talk the whole time about ball because there’s things he’s opened my eyes up to that I’ve never even realized or noticed. Just my mental approach is night and day from last year. So, he’s been a great deal of help.”

Fellow corner, Chandon Sullivan offered similar sentiments.

“He’s just opened up our eyes,” Sullivan said of Gray. “He’s allowing us to slow the game down with our minds.

With help from Gray, Alexander and company have a chance to be one of the top secondaries in the league this season. As a group, they played at a high level in spots last season but need more consistency.

From what he’s seen in practice, Gray hopes the Packers secondary can have a “breakout” season. Those are strong words from a coach who has been around some great secondaries over the past two decades.

In the coming months, we will see how Gray’s leadership has prepared the defensive backs for a strong performance in 2020.