GREEN BAY, Wis. — If the members of the Packers 2012 coaching staff seem a bit out of place in their new roles, it may be true, but it's all part of the design by head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy finalized his staff on Monday by officially naming his former tight ends coach Ben McAdoo as quarterbacks coach. McAdoo has spent the last six seasons coaching tight ends and has never worked directly with quarterbacks. Additionally, McCarthy moved Jerry Fontenot from running backs coach to the tight ends job. Fontenot is a former offensive lineman who, prior to 2011, had never worked with running backs.
The only new member of McCarthy's staff, Alex Van Pelt, is the Packers' new running backs coach. Van Pelt, a former NFL quarterback who spent the last two years as quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has never worked with running backs.
So, to recap, a quarterback is coaching running backs, an offensive linemen is coaching tight ends and a coach with no experience with quarterbacks is now working with the NFL's Most Valuable Player.
"I don't look at it as musical chairs," McCarthy said. "I really think it's creative thinking that has worked out well for us. It was really no different. I feel it's an opportunity to hire the best man, the best coach, and we try to do that every single time we have a position open.
"Fit is very important. Really having a coach that's played another position within the offense really brings in another level of expertise and experience to that room. In my conversations with our players, they appreciate that."
This isn't the only recent move by McCarthy that, at first glance, seemed a bit odd. Former Packers running back Edgar Bennett began coaching wide receivers in 2011, a position he never played or coached.
"Having the opportunity to work with Edgar Bennett, he brought a different perspective last year," McCarthy said. "I've really liked the experience level, the diversity, something that we can really draw from as we continue to try to build this offense and stay creative and get ready for next year. I love the diversity of it. More importantly, it's about men. It's about the right type of people that fit together. And we feel like we've accomplished that."
McCarthy nearly added Van Pelt back in 2006 when he was first named head coach of the Packers. However, McCarthy hired Tom Clements. Now, with the departure of Joe Philbin to head the Miami Dolphins, Clements is the new offensive coordinator in Green Bay. This allowed Van Pelt to get a job with the organization he almost joined six years earlier.
"I think everything happens for a reason," McCarthy said. "Was he part of the conversation back then? Absolutely. This is the way it goes. Our business is about timing sometimes. From my perspective, it's about the right fit and Alex is the right fit for us."
McCarthy's relationship with Van Pelt dates back to 1989 when a 26-year-old McCarthy was the University of Pittsburgh's quarterbacks coach where Van Pelt was the quarterback.
"Mike reached out to me (in 2006) and it was more of me not thinking I was ready at that point," Van Pelt said of being considered for McCarthy's open quarterback coach position. "I didn't want to come here and do a bad job so I was just getting into coaching at that time. Everything happens for a reason."
Given Van Pelt's lack of experience, he plans on asking his fellow coaches for help.
"My position is to coach the running backs and I'm going to do everything in my job to coach those guys," Van Pelt said. "But I'm going to lean on Edgar (Bennett) in areas that I don't have expertise in, and Jerry (Fontenot), who worked with them last year. If Ben (McAdoo) needed anything from me (in coaching quarterbacks), I'd be there for him.
"The key is we have a staff of good coaches and we'll find a way to get them coached up."
Clements, who has been Aaron Rodgers' only quarterbacks coach since becoming Green Bay's starter, will take on added responsibility as he transitions to offensive coordinator. But he doesn't think it will be a problem for the coaches to be in unfamiliar areas of teaching their players.
"I know some of the best coaches I've been around have not played the position that they're coaching," Clement said. "I was with an old coach one time at Notre Dame who said, 'Show me a film of alligator wrestling and I can coach that as well.' Coaching is being prepared and being able to communicate with your player.
"Having played the position you're coaching, it gives you a little bit better sense as to what's going on, but it's not a requirement in order to be a successful coach, I don't think."
Despite the Packers' success the past two seasons, including a Super Bowl XLV championship and a 15-1 regular-season record in 2011, only Philbin has been lost from the coaching staff.
McAdoo was blocked by the Packers from interviewing with the Dolphins and Buccaneers for their then-vacant offensive coordinator positions, but he dodged the topic when directly asked about it. McCarthy, too, would not address it, saying he wishes that information would stay "between clubs."
Clements, however, who was blocked from interviewing for the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator position in 2010, spoke about being denied that chance.
"Like any coach, you'd like to advance," Clements said. "The way it was explained to me, I certainly understood why it didn't work out, why I wasn't able to do it. At that time it would've been nice to go through the interviews, but it was no big deal. After the decision was made that I would not be able to do it, I understood the reasoning behind it. It was within the division. I understand and we just moved on."
Clements will now have his chance to be an offensive coordinator again for the first time since his two years with the Buffalo Bills in 2004 and 2005. However, unlike Clements' time in Buffalo, he will not be calling plays on offense as McCarthy confirmed that he will continue in that role in Green Bay.
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