Packers assistant coaches Winston Moss, Darren Perry and Joe Whitt will interview to become the team’s defensive coordinator, coach Mike McCarthy announced Thursday.
McCarthy added that the Packers also will consider external candidates.
“The defense needs to be better than the offense,” McCarthy said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I mean, that has to happen. So you’ve got four ways to do it. You get player acquisition, player instruction, player finance -- who you pay to build your roster -- and player performance.
“I mean, there’s so many things out there that we can advance in as far as analytics, more science, we have a strong history of developing young players, maximizing their abilities. But we can always get better, and that’s really where I’m at with it. So the defense, we need to be better.”
While all three Packers assistants are under contract for next season, McCarthy said the defensive coordinator will have say in his staff. That means Moss, Perry and Whitt lack job security despite interviewing for a promotion.
“Philosophically, I think it’s important for the coordinator to be involved in the hiring of every assistant coach,” McCarthy said. “I know when I was coordinator, if the assistant coaches that you may not have been part of, that can cause some situations that are totally unnecessary, and sometimes that’s avoidable, too. You’ve got to be realistic about the coaching industry and the mark of coaches with what’s going on right now, too. But preferably you like to have the coordinator involved in hiring all the assistants.”
Moss interviewed for the Lions head coaching job Thursday. The Packers might move on from him if he doesn’t leave, via Demovsky. Capers brought Perry with him to Green Bay. Whitt joined the Packers’ staff in 2008, the year before Capers arrived.