Kirk Olivadotti

Packers Notes: Coaching, Clements, Evero, Watson

February 6th, 2024 at 9:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Tom Clements is expected to be back in Green Bay next season. The long-time coach will continue being the quarterbacks coach on Matt LaFleur’s staff in 2024, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

There was some speculation that the organization’s recent hiring of Sean Mannion could mean that the 70-year-old Clements would retire, but that isn’t the case. Per Silverstein, the Packers believe Clements will be a great mentor to Mannion, perhaps a hint that the recently-retired QB could eventually take over the role.

Over the past two years, Clements has overseen a major turnover at the position. After coaching Aaron Rodgers during his first season at the helm, Clements guided Jordan Love through the QB’s first season as a starter.

Clements has been coaching since the 1990s, serving as the QBs coach with the Saints, Chiefs, Steelers, Cardinals, and Packers. He had a two-year stint as the Bills offensive coordinator before catching on with the Packers in 2006. He spent more than a decade in Green Bay, eventually serving as offensive coordinator and later assistant head coach. He called it a career following a two-year stint in Arizona, but he was coaxed out of retirement in 2022 and returned to the Packers.

More news out of Green Bay…

With the Packers having settled on Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley as their new defensive coordinator, the rest of the defensive coaching staff is starting to take shape. According to Silverstein, Hafley will bring along BC defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase. Incumbent defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery isn’t expected to be back next season, although Silverstein adds that linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich is expected to pivot to defensive line coach in 2024, making Oghobaase’s role unknown. In addition to Montgomery, passing game coordinator Greg Williams and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti won’t return to the Packers, per Silverstein.
The Packers are expected to hire former Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, per Silverstein. Campanile is expected to be the team’s new run game coordinator, and the hiring was inspired by LaFleur‘s desire to transition to a 4-3 defensive scheme. Campanile has been a popular name this offseason; he interviewed for the Giants defensive coordinator job and was pursued by the Eagles to be their linebackers coach.
The Packers are also adding former Chargers defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley as their defensive pass-game coordinator, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Ansley had a long stint in the NCAA to begin his coaching career, culminating in him serving as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He joined the Chargers the following season, and after serving as their defensive backs coach for two years, he earned a promotion to DC in 2023.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is sticking in Carolina, but if he shook loose, the Packers would have had interest, according to Fowler. The feeling would have been mutual, as Evero would have had interest in the Green Bay DC job. We heard last week that the Packers also made an unsuccessful run at Zach Orr as their defensive coordinator.
A hamstring injury has forced Packers wide receiver Christian Watson to miss a handful of games through his first two seasons in the NFL, but the organization is working to remedy the lingering issue. LaFleur told reporters (including Silverstein) that the Packers have a “plan” to figure out why Watson’s hamstring continues to be an issue. The team intends to send the wideout to a specialist who should provide further guidance.

Latest On Seahawks’ HC Decision; Eric Bieniemy On Radar For OC?

February 6th, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Fallout from the Seahawks and Commanders’ HC hires points to Seattle winning out, hiring Mike Macdonald despite Washington’s push. It took a six-year contract for the Seahawks to land the young defensive coordinator, but they are starting over after initially being connected to Dan Quinn.

Likely the Commanders’ fallback option during what turned into a complicated HC search that featured some notable Ben Johnson involvement, Quinn was the first name mentioned in connection with the Seahawks’ job. But the veteran staffer’s past with Pete Carroll may well have been an issue for the team. As the Seahawks sought a fresher option, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline notes Quinn’s two stints under Carroll worked against him.

The team viewed Quinn as too similar to Carroll, per Pauline. Considering Quinn worked under Carroll in 2010 — after being added to the then-Jim Mora Jr.-led Seattle staff in ’09 — and then led the team’s defense from 2013-14, comparing Quinn to his former boss is understandable. The Seahawks led the NFL in scoring defense during both Super Bowl seasons under Quinn, and he reestablished his value with the Cowboys over the past three years. But he will be tasked with leading the Commanders now, as Macdonald is moving forward with assembling his Seahawks staff.

Quinn and Commanders front office boss Adam Peters informed Eric Bieniemy, following the team’s Kliff Kingsbury OC addition, he would not be retained. At this time last year, Bieniemy had been a Commanders target after five seasons as the Chiefs’ non-play-calling OC. Seeing HC interest decline in recent years and his first year as a play-calling OC produce a decline on offense in Washington, Bieniemy sits in limbo late in the hiring period.

The Seahawks should still be a team to watch in connection with Bieniemy, according to ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Caplan, who connects the NFC West team to the veteran assistant for the OC job. The Seahawks have thus far been tied to new Alabama OC Ryan Grubb and Lions pass-game coordinator Tanner Engstrand for what will be a play-calling OC post. The Giants blocked the Hawks from interviewing OC Mike Kafka.

Bieniemy’s failure to land a head coaching job during his five-year run as Chiefs OC became one of this period’s defining coaching storylines. Bieniemy’s Washington departure also leaves the NFL with no Black offensive coordinators or offensive play-callers. This has been a longstanding issue for the league, even as four teams hired minority HCs during this year’s cycle. The three Black candidates hired — Antonio Pierce, Jerod Mayo, Raheem Morris — came from the defensive side. This pattern has shined a light on Bieniemy’s candidacy, but after the Commanders finished 25th in scoring offense and closed the season on an eight-game losing streak, their 2023 OC’s stock has dropped.

Additionally, the Seahawks will retain their defensive pass-game coordinator. Initially linked to following ex-Seattle DC Clint Hurtt to Philadelphia, Karl Scott will stay in Seattle, according to the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta. Scott has been the team’s DBs coach for the past two seasons, and while Condotta adds his role under Macdonald is unclear, the Seahawks will keep a Carroll assistant on that side of the ball.

The team is also hiring Kirk Olivadotti from the Packers, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. The son of former Dolphins DC Tom Olivadotti, Kirk has been an NFL assistant for most of the 21st century. Spending much of his career (16 years over two stints) with Washington, Olivadotti joined Macdonald on the Georgia Bulldogs’ staff from 2011-13. Olivadotti coached the Bulldogs’ linebackers in that span, while Macdonald was on the quality control level. After spending the past five seasons as the Packers’ ILBs coach, the 50-year-old assistant is expected to coach the Hawks’ linebackers.

Latest On Packers’ Coaching Staff

January 18th, 2019 at 7:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Packers made several moves today to help fill out new coach Matt LaFleur’s inaugural staff. First the team hired 49ers assistant offensive line coach Adam Stenavich to be their offensive line coach, sources told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports (Twitter link). We heard a couple of days ago Green Bay was granted permission to interview him, and now they’ve made the move. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweeted several hours before Maiocco broke the news that the Jets also had interest in Stenavich to be their offensive line coach. Stenavich was on the Packers’ practice squad in 2006 during his playing days as an offensive tackle.

The team is also hiring Kirk Olivadotti to be their linebackers coach, tweets Jim Owczarski of the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel. Up until now Olivadotti had served in the same position with the Redskins. LaFleur served on Washington’s staff as quarterbacks coach while Olivadotti was there, so the hire makes sense. LaFleur will also be retaining Jason Simmons, the secondary coach who has been on the staff in Green Bay since 2011, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

In a separate tweet Demovsky notes that the Packers completed their interview with Luke Getsy. A source told Demovsky that Getsy interviewed for both the quarterbacks and receivers coach openings, but left town without signing a contract. Jason Wilde of ESPN followed up with a tweet of his own, saying that quarterback Aaron Rodgers “thinks very highly of Getsy and has a lot of respect for him.”

Getsy served on the Packers’ staff under Mike McCarthy from 2014-17 before leaving to take a job as Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator last year. The Packers have been making a bunch of moves to bring guys in from different organizations, and are now close to filling out LaFleur’s staff.

Packers Notes: Staff, Jefferson, Dennison

January 16th, 2019 at 9:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is interested in Dolphins assistant head coach/offense Shawn Jefferson, reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). If hired, Jefferson would likely join Green Bay as receivers coach, a role for for which Jets WRs coach Karl Dorrell has already interviewed. The Packers allowed their former wideouts coach — David Raih — to join the Cardinals’ new staff earlier this offseason. Jefferson, meanwhile, started his coaching career in 2006 with the Lions before moving on to Tennessee in 2013 and Miami in 2016.

Here’s more from Green Bay:

The 49ers have granted the Packers permission to interview Adam Stenavich for their offensive line coach vacancy, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Stenavich, currently San Francisco’s assistant OL coach, joined the 49ers in 2017 after spending time in the NCAA ranks with Michigan, Northern Arizona, and San Jose State. Green Bay is on the hunt for a new offensive line coach after allowing James Campen, who’d been with the franchise since 2007, to take an assistant head coach/OL job with the Browns.
In addition to Stenavich, Green Bay has interest in longtime NFL offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Rick Dennison, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Dennison has long been a Gary Kubiak disciple, but surprisingly hasn’t followed him to Minnesota, where Kubiak is now an offensive advisor. Indeed, Dennison’s presence may have been a primary reason for Kubiak not becoming the Broncos’ OC, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com indicated last week (via Twitter). Dennison spent 2017-18 with the Bills and Jets, respectively.
The Packers will also interview Redskins linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti for the same role, tweets Grant Paulsen of NBC Sports Washington. Olivadotti, 45, has essentially been a Redskins lifer: he joined the club in 2000 as a defensive quality control coach, and has worked for the team in various roles ever since, save for a 2011-13 stint at the University of Georgia. He’s familiar with LaFleur, as the two worked together in the nation’s capital in 2010 while LaFleur was Washington’s quarterbacks coach.
LaFleur will retain incumbent defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and running backs coach Ben Sirmans, per Demovsky. At present, it appears Montgomery, Sirmans, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio will be the only holdovers from previous head coach Mike McCarthy‘s staff. However, it’s unclear if Montgomery and Angelichio will remain in their current roles or take on new responsibilities.
Despite spending the 2018 campaign as the Titans’ offensive coordinator, LaFleur will not bring any members of the Tennessee staff to Green Bay, tweets Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com.

Redskins Promote Greg Manusky To DC

January 22nd, 2017 at 10:31am CST by Rory Parks

The Redskins will promote outside linebackers coach Greg Manusky to defensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter).

Washington fired former DC Joe Barry earlier this month, and the club compiled an extensive list of candidates to replace him, including Gus Bradley, Rob Ryan, and John Pagano (the Redskins were denied permission to interview Romeo Crennel and Paul Guenther). PFR’s coordinator tracker provides the full complement of candidates.

Manusky, though, reportedly had the backing of Redskins players, and his familiarity with the organization may have helped him land the position.

He also brings a great deal of experience to the table, having served as defensive coordinator for three different teams, but that experience is largely a mixed bag. The 50-year-old Manusky got his feet wet as a linebackers coach for the Redskins in 2001, and he worked as the linebackers coach for the Chargers from 2002-06 before being hired as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2007. The 49ers’ defense proved to be one of the best in the league in 2009, but it took a step back in 2010, and Manusky was allowed to seek another position following the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Manusky returned to the Chargers as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2011, but he was fired after his unit finished as the league’s 22nd-ranked defense. Manusky was subsequently hired as the Colts’ defensive coordinator in 2012, and he spent four years in that role. The Colts made the playoffs in three of those four seasons, but Manusky’s defense finished in the top-10 in points allowed only once during his tenure. He was fired following the 2015 campaign, and he soon caught on as the Redskins’ outside linebackers coach.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets that 49ers’ linebackers coach Jason Tarver, who was another candidate for the Redskins’ DC opening, could replace Manusky as the team’s OLB coach. Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets that the team will keep Kirk Olivadotti as its ILB coach and would like to promote Aubrey Pleasant to DBs coach.

As Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets, it is fair to wonder whether the Redskins would have fired Barry at all if they had known they would have ended up with Manusky and his spotty DC resume as his replacement as opposed to their big name targets like Bradley and Wade Phillips.