Earlier this week, the Packers prevented tight ends coach Ben McAdoo from interviewing with the Bucs for the position of offensive coordinator. Now, the Packers have given McAdoo a bump up the ladder.
Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports that McAdoo has been promoted to quarterbacks coach. He’ll be filling the vacancy created when Tom Clements was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.
And having a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers will make McAdoo look like a damn good quarterbacks coach. But Rodgers is on the record as saying he’d prefer someone with more experience.
“I think that’s an interesting conversation I hope I’m in the loop for,” Rodgers told ESPN Milwaukee on Tuesday regarding the hiring of his next position coach. “Because going into my eighth season, it’ll be interesting to see what direction [coach Mike McCarthy] wants to go in, if he wants to bring in a former quarterback with experience to kind of help me with my transition into the middle part of my career, being more of an established player in the league now.”
Rodgers specifically expressed a preference for former NFL MVP Rich Gannon. “We have a very good relationship. I have a lot of respect for Rich,” Rodgers said. “That would be something that I was kind of talking about when you look at a guy who’s played in the league for a long time and can help with the transition into kind of the middle stages of a career -- as Rich really didn’t become a starter until he was kind of in his sixth, seventh, eighth year and had a lot of success after he turned 30.”
Still, Rodgers ultimately expressed a willingness to accept McAdoo. “I’m not sure what the dynamic would be with a coach who hasn’t coached the [quarterback] position before,” Rodgers said. “But Ben is a very talented coach and if they do make that decision I’m sure he’ll make a very smooth transition.”
If he doesn’t, things could get interesting for the Packers.