GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It appears that Joe Philbin will be the only coordinator or coach from last year's Packers staff to not return to Green Bay next season. That is because, according to a report on the NFL Network, the Packers have blocked both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins from interviewing tight ends coach Ben McAdoo for their vacant offensive coordinator positions.
With Philbin now the head coach of the Dolphins, his connection to McAdoo is from six years of working together in Green Bay. McAdoo was a potential candidate for the Packers' recently-filled offensive coordinator position, but coach Mike McCarthy promoted quarterbacks coach Tom Clements instead. It was Clements who was blocked from an interview by the Packers two years ago, when the Chicago Bears were looking for an offensive coordinator in a job that was then given to Mike Martz.
It is possible that McAdoo could now replace Clements as the team's quarterbacks coach, but Aaron Rodgers didn't sound too convinced of that possibility on his weekly radio show.
"Well, I think that's an interesting conversation," Rodgers said on 540 WAUK in Milwaukee. "I hope I'm in the loop for it, because going into the my eighth season, it'll be interesting to see what direction (McCarthy) wants to go in. If he wants to bring in a former quarterback with experience to kind of help me with the transition into the middle part of my career, being more of an established player in the league now.
"I'm not sure what that dynamic would be with a coach who hasn't coached the position before, but Ben is a very talented coach. If they do make that decision, I'm sure (McAdoo) will make a smooth transition."
The jump from coaching tight ends to quarterbacks is not unprecedented in Green Bay. That is the move that current Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid made in 1997 before being hired by the Eagles two seasons later.
Rodgers, who was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player over the weekend, was asked about the possibility of 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon becoming the team's new quarterbacks coach. Gannon, who has been in broadcasting since his retirement in 2005, has never been a coach. Gannon is the analyst for all of the Packers' preseason games.
"We have a very good relationship," Rodgers said of Gannon. "I have a lot of respect for Rich. That would be something I was kind of talking about, when you look at a guy whose played in the league a long time and can help with the transition into the middle stage of a career. He had a lot of success after he turned 30."
Rodgers turned 28 in December.
In addition to McAdoo being blocked from an interview, there is a strong possibility that the Packers also prevented 33-year-old cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt from interviewing for the defensive coordinator position with the Oakland Raiders. Oakland, now being run by former Packers director of operations Reggie McKenzie, has since hired Jason Tarver away from Stanford University to take over that job.
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