Luke Getsy aims to see the game through the quarterback's perspective
-- Failing to continuously evolve and keep pace with a good portion of the rest of the league has caused the Green Bay Packers to fall behind.
It's caused them to make necessary changes to both their executive hierarchy and their coaching staff in each of the past two offseasons, and in doing so, could either set them back on par with the NFL's juggernauts or cause them to descend even further into the entrenched stranglehold of mediocrity.
Hopefully, for their sake, it's the former.
The Packers don't need to do more than a lot of teams typically do entering any offseason, and that's essentially upgrading at various positions on their roster via free agency or the draft. They already got the difficult part out of the way, and that was undermining the previous coaching regime to venture forth in a new direction: A direction spear-headed by new head coach Matt LaFleur.
LaFleur, who took the reins en route to hiring on his own staff, became Mike McCarthy's successor after McCarthy was relieved from his duties on Dec. 2. LaFleur was hired just over a month later after an exhaustive search by the Packers' brass.
But the 39-year old LaFleur isn't alone in the Packers' charge back to prominence. Nathaniel Hackett replaced Joe Philbin as the team's offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy returned and replaced Frank Cignetti Jr. as the quarterbacks coach, as well as various other offensive assistant positions LaFleur filled out with instructors he has familiarity with.
Each distinguished offensive hire has invaluable experience working with quarterbacks in their respective pasts. Something that seemed to be crucial to LaFleur during the hiring process.
On Monday, LaFleur joked that the Packers will have three different quarterback-oriented guys being able to hit Aaron Rodgers from "all angles." But was that a joke? While Rodgers' performance in 2018 dipped -- if you're looking anywhere else except his stat sheet -- in a manner one wouldn't typically relate to the two-time league MVP, it's no secret that he's going to be challenged in almost every facet moving forward.
"I’m excited to help get him playing at a high level," Getsy told Packers.com on Monday. "Obviously knowing each other is a good thing. The relationship’s already there; the professional relationship, which I think is more important. There’s mutual respect between the two of us, so I think that gets us off to a good start."
Getsy left a solidified job at Mississippi State as the Bulldogs' offensive coordinator to return to Green Bay. He previously spent four seasons with the Packers as an offensive quality control coach and wide receivers coach, playing an instrumental role in the early development of Davante Adams, the team's leading receiver.
"I’ve always had a passion and drive where a goal of mine was always to be a coordinator in this league and my time here was really awesome.
"I had a great opportunity to go work for a guy who was really special to me, helped get my career going. I had that opportunity and it was fun, I’m glad I got to go do that. Then this opportunity opened up. I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach LaFleur and coach Hackett, the opportunity to work with them and work for this organization again was something I really couldn’t pass up."
Getsy is going to account for one-third of the voices in Rodgers' ear, the other two being LaFleur and Hackett. What helps him stand alone is the bond and close working relationship he shares with Rodgers: A bond that seemed to be an untraceable, fictional trait between Cignetti and Rodgers last season.
The Packers and Rodgers' former position coach, Alex Van Pelt, parted ways at the end of the 2017 season, leading to the hiring of Cignetti. While helping reinvigorate Rodgers' career entering his age 36 season, LaFleur did his due diligence in acquiring someone with experience in working with the cornerstone of his franchise.
Getsy's intentions are not only helping reignite the otherworldly caliber of play from Rodgers but finding a way to see the game through his eyes. As a former quarterback himself, he has a better chance of that than anybody.
"How I was raised in this league and this profession is seeing the game through the QB’s eyes is an advantage. … When you’re coaching a quarterback, there’s a little bit more, ‘I’ve seen it’ in the perspective of how you see the whole picture.
"I think anytime you get the quarterback perspective to a guy like Aaron, it's a benefit to him. I think now, to have three guys who have a ton of experience in that room coaching the position or playing the position, that’s going to help him be able to relate."
Hackett clarified on Monday that a lot of the concepts the Packers run under LaFleur will be similar to the concepts implemented during the McCarthy era, however, the verbiage and language will be the standalone difference. While some parts of their west coast-based system may seem replicated, they'll emphasize the concepts they want to run differently.
In this sense, a slightly revamped system doesn't offer too much of a learning curve for Rodgers, but more so an opportunity to elevate what he's already done so well in recent memory.
"The offense coach McCarthy ran and the offense coach LaFleur is gonna run, it’s not like they’re two different worlds. So it’ll help tie the two together and bridge that gap as we move forward with what we’re gonna do," Getsy said.
"They’re both west coast-based from the ground up. Obviously, coach McCarthy’s evolved over the years and so has coach LaFleur’s. The nice thing is the tie-in coming from that west coast background, I think that puts it together more than anything. Now it’s just new terminology that we’re going to have to get everybody here on the same page."
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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].
Comments (10)
LambeauPlain
February 20, 2019 at 07:21 am
Early on Get, Hack and Matt will need to get Aaron fully on board with the run game....which I think will occur.
Aaron said last year “we need to run the ball more” and MM even said after his bye week self scout “it’s clear we have to run the ball more and pass off play action.”
Then MM proceded to ignore the run but still pass off play action that defenses completely ignored and pinned their ears back to distupt Rodgers, hit him or sack him.
Pack ran the ball the least of any NFL team last year even as they were one of the best doing it.
ML and Hackett’s teams were two that ran the ball the most.
Not only will a dedicated run game help exploit Ds in the pass game....it will reduce a lot of the abuse AR received in the pocket last year.
Handsback
February 20, 2019 at 07:27 am
I'm never sure of the meaning of the phase " 3 different guys hitting Rodgers at all angles"? Is Rodgers so far off on his basics that three people will be there to help or there will be enough guys reviewing his performance that any of them can help him out of a slump?
I hope it has something to do with coach "slang" because multiple people telling you how to do something doesn't sound productive.
J0hn Denver's Gavel
February 20, 2019 at 01:00 pm
haha, that line does seem confusing. I'm picturing a verbal assault from 3 people at once.
Savage57
February 20, 2019 at 08:23 am
"Luke Getsy aims to see the game through the quarterback's perspective"
Isn't that the glaringly obvious #1 job for a QB coach?
IamGute
February 20, 2019 at 09:35 am
I like it. Build on what you do well. Focus on your identity. Pettine is already there to take care of the defensive side.
IshpemingPackAttack
February 20, 2019 at 09:54 am
I have to say that I enjoyed the press conference with the new coaches. They all seem like guys that truly love football. They seemed to be pumped to get started. I came away from it feeling good about the future. We shall see. The glass is half full right now. I hope that the positive feelings continue. Now it is Guteys turn!!
JonathanSpader
February 20, 2019 at 02:35 pm
I loved the energy especially from Hackett. Hearing them made me think back to Capers napping in the box. It's blank stare and hardly saying a word and looking annoyed with reporters. MM saying "pad level, fundamentals, run the ball more". Winston Moss yelling at reporters.
These guys were all dynamic at one point or another but 1265 felt dead. It wasn't just MM's play calling that felt stale. As a fan I'd just sort of gotten used to it. I'd honestly forgotten what energy in GB felt like. Excited to see how that energy translates to the field in 2019.
PatrickGB
February 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm
Another new system for our young receivers to learn. Some might say that’s it’s an extra burden for them. But if it’s one that makes more sense then I can see them adapting well. It seems that the emphasis is on getting Rodgers to buy in. If it works he will buy in. A good run game and open receivers will speed the process.
JonathanSpader
February 20, 2019 at 02:44 pm
MM's system was notorious for being complicated same with Caper's defense. When they worked they worked well when injuries inevitably happened they fell apart. If MLF can keep it simple with the "illusion of complexity" he could lighten the burden on our young WR core.
We still have a stud in Adams and a veteran TE in Graham. I want to see ESB in the slot. See MVS on one side and Adams on the other. I haven't given up on Moore yet we'll see what a year on the jugs machine does. I like Kumero and Allison for depth and competing to start/rotate.
4thand1
February 20, 2019 at 01:38 pm
Gone with the same ol same ol. It's gonna be refreshing to watch games and not call the plays from my lazy boy. If we fans know whats coming, it had to be childs play for opposing defenses.