The NFL Combine is underway which means we’re getting plenty of interviews, sound bites, and 40-yard dash times to keep us entertained. Thankfully I don’t have to participate in any drills and I just get to answer your questions. Let’s dive in:
“Hey Maggie! The coaching carousel is slowly grinding to a halt, with but a few stragglers remaining. It’s probably more like a merry-go-round at this point! I am curious though… It seems like most head coaches come from either the OC tree, or the DC tree, with very few coming from the ST tree. Somewhat understandable. However wouldn’t you think that having ST experience would be incredibly beneficial? Seems like those guys just cycle around the league in one ST role or another, and not part of the natural progression of advancement. Perhaps it’s just a matter of specialization? IDK. Just feels like ST is such an orphan child. Then again, maybe it’s just cuz we generally “stink” at them. Thanks!” - Jim
John Harbaugh is certainly the poster child for having a special teams background prior to becoming a head coach, I would say. He was a special teams coordinator at the collegiate level from 1988 to 1997 before taking a job with the Eagles as their special teams coordinator. He held that role for nine years then coached defensive backs for one season before landing the head coaching gig in Baltimore in 2008. Mike Ditka is an earlier example, working on special teams and with receivers for the Cowboys until he landed his head coaching gig in Chicago in 1992. Joe Judge is a more recent example with eight years of special teams experience in the NFL under Bill Belichick before taking the Giants head coaching job in 2020. That fizzled out after two seasons. I think a lot of good coaches get their foot in the door starting on special teams (like Belichick), but then they may land a role coaching a position group that expands into becoming an offensive or defensive coordinator, which is what garners more attention in the head coaching sphere. Darren Rizzi is a renowned special teams coordinator who has interviewed for head coaching roles. So it does happen. I think it’s just easier to look at units like the Chargers defense and say “they played great, let’s give Jesse Minter a look” or the Seattle offense and say “we need to hire Klint Kubiak to replicate that success.” The only bright spot for the Jets this season was Chris Banjo’s special teams, but he’s only got three years of NFL coaching under his belt so he wasn’t garnering any head coaching interviews just yet. For what it's worth, the Packers have interviewed a mixture of candidates for the vacant special teams coordinator position, with some candidates having over a decade of experience as coordinators and others having zero seasons in a formal special teams coordinator role.
“Seeing how there seems to be pretty high consensus value for Willis, is there any potential for a tag and trade?” - Nick
I said in a mailbag a while ago (maybe the first ever mailbag?) that I didn’t see it happening, and some people in the comments disagreed with me, which is okay! The reason I didn’t see it happening then was knowing how much it’s going to cost to actually franchise tag Willis in the first place. And I still stand by that original statement. It’s just not something I see the Packers being able to do. As things sit right now, the Packers are about $4 million over the cap per Spotrac, so money is tight. They’ll need to get in the green before the start of the new league year. If they cut Rashan Gary and Elgton Jenkins, which we’re all expecting them to do, that’d save them about $30 million. They can also restructure a number of contracts, but that isn’t always the most helpful as it just sort of kicks the can down the road for another season. Over the Cap has the franchise tag for quarterbacks set at just over $47 million this year. I just don’t see a world where a team is going to trade the Packers the assets they’re looking for to take on that salary. What’s more, his calculated market value right now is about $35 million a year, right in the Sam Darnold range. I’m not sure any team is that desperate for his services at QB to overpay for the franchise tag. It made sense with Davante Adams’ situation when he was tagged and traded. I don’t see Green Bay performing the cap gymnastics to make this a reality. Personally, I’d rather see them use that roughly $30 million (or more) to find a few depth pieces in free agency so they aren’t as concerned about as many holes going into the draft. Then the Packers can enjoy the Willis compensatory pick in 2027.
“Any thoughts on Ben Johnson's comments about the Packers at the Combine? While I don't disagree with him that a Packers/Bears rivalry is a good thing, I sure would like to punch him in the face.” - Tony
I joke that as someone located on the Illinois border in Kenosha, I have extra disdain for Bears fans because there are a lot of them in my city. But I’m fine with his comments. Packers fans wore shirts that said “I still own you” when Aaron Rodgers screamed at Bears fans. I’ve always on the podcast called Packers vs Bears the oldest, best rivalry in sports. And for a long time under Brett Favre and Rodgers, it was a very lopsided rivalry. Bears fans would also be quick to point out that it was lopsided in their favor in the 1980s. When your division is good, it means something. When the Packers could beat up on the NFC North, snag an easy six wins, and then get bounced in the first round of the playoffs, that wasn’t useful. It was fun, sure, to dominate the division, but it didn’t prepare Green Bay for the caliber of competition they’d be seeing in the postseason. These last few seasons, those Thanksgiving games and late December games have had playoff-type atmospheres. And they’ve had playoff implications in terms of seeding. Remember a few years ago when the Packers lost to the Jets at Lambeau, and Robert Saleh said at halftime he told his team to keep giving the Packers body blows, because “if we kept taking them down to deeper water they’d find out they can’t swim”? That was one of Matt LaFleur’s best friends saying that. If your friends say that about your football team, it shouldn’t be a surprise what your enemies will say. And yes, I know a lot of that is motivating your team in the locker room, but it was still shared with the media afterward. So anyway, that was kind of a lengthy response to say I don’t see an issue with it. I want the NFC North to be tough and I want the Packers to go into those games with an edge. They should have won the Wild Card Round and let that game slip away. That should bother them. It wouldn’t shock me if that’s the Week 1 rematch to open the 2026 season.
“My question is what would GM Maggie Loney do this offseason to bring the Packers back to glory? You covered the pending Packer free agents. So which players would you release and restructure; and how/if you'd dip your toe into free agency?” - Alvin
Thanks for your longer email, Alvin! It made me laugh, and I appreciate your kind words about Pack’s What She Said! I kind of touched on some of these salary savings in a question above, but I’d move on from Gary and Jenkins to start. I can see why fans are frustrated with Aaron Banks’ production and the salary he’s earning, but it’s just not cost effective to release him this year, and then that adds potentially another hole to fill along the offensive line.
Last week I talked about wanting to bring J.J. Enagbare back on a team-friendly deal, but there’s starting to be some smoke about him garnering a larger contract in free agency. He could be getting a bigger payday than we anticipated, and if he’s getting paid like a starter, at that point I don’t think Green Bay should be in the running for his services. The roster just has bigger holes to fill elsewhere, although I’d be in on Enagbare coming back for around $5-6 million annually (it sounds like he’ll eclipse that and could be getting as much as $9 million per year). The Packers will need to decide on Lukas Van Ness and his fifth year option by May 1st, which is the week after the NFL Draft. If they pick up the option, Van Ness would earn a little over $15 million for the 2027 season. Regardless, though, he’s under contract and should see his snaps increase in 2026 as the first man up in the edge rotation. In addition to Van Ness, the Packers have two exciting second-year players in Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver. Oliver is a complete unknown going into the season and could be a hybrid piece in Jonathan Gannon’s defense. Sorrell, meanwhile, has spent the offseason working out with Micah Parsons as he recovers from his ACL injury. That’s already four bodies in the edge room. I will say, though, if I had to decide between keeping Gary’s contract or signing Enagbare to be my fifth edge rusher, I’m letting Gary walk and re-signing Enagbare so I have money to spend elsewhere.
I’d still be interested in bringing back Sean Rhyan, simply knowing the injury struggles that plagued the offensive line in 2025. Even if Rhyan doesn’t win the starting center job, he still would add much-needed depth along the interior and be the first guy off the bench to fill in. I’d also make sure Darian Kinnard comes back (restricted free agent) as my sixth offensive lineman and backup swing tackle.
We’ll have a lot of time to dig into free agents, so I don’t want to make this too long, but I’ll give a couple of names I’d be interested in taking a look at in free agency. With the roster moves we expect the Packers to make, I think they’d have the money to get these deals done. I really liked cornerback Benjamin St-Juste coming out of the 2021 draft class. I think barring anything unforeseen, Keisean Nixon is a starting boundary corner in 2026. But I think the boundary opposite him is an open competition between Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine, potentially a new addition like St-Juste, and a draft pick. I prefer Hobbs in the slot (primarily in some of the dime looks Gannon likes to run), so that would leave St-Juste as an option opposite Nixon on the boundary. It’s possible the Chargers want to bring St-Juste back, and they have the cap space to do it, but I thought he had a great bounce-back year with the Chargers after his first contract in Washington, and he did so at a price of only $2.5 million for the season. He’s 6-3, physical, and didn’t register a single missed tackle in 356 defensive snaps played (Pro Football Reference). He’d also contribute as a core special teamer.
I’m also spending money on a nose tackle. Brian Gutekunst is pretty good at attacking areas of weakness both in free agency and the draft. We saw it in how he addressed the need at safety by signing Xavier McKinney, then drafting Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Kitan Oladapo. That’s the approach I’d take with a player like St-Juste and a drafted corner, and the approach I want at nose tackle, too.
I think Roy Lopez makes a ton of sense here, and he’s the guy I’d go after in free agency. He has familiarity with Gannon’s defense already having played for the Cardinals in 2024, and he just had his best season as a pro as a depth piece in Detroit, registering 30 tackles and two sacks. He immediately becomes your starter in the room, and then you grab a guy like Big Citrus (Dominique Orange) to develop alongside him.
Don’t forget to send your mailbag questions to [email protected]. We’re inching closer to the start of the new league year and free agency, so there’s plenty to talk about.