Packers Assistant Coach Steps Down

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Kevin Greene
The Packers have a big void to fill with Greene’s announcement that he is stepping down as outside linebackers coach

Green Bay Packers outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene announced that he will step down in that role with the team in order to spend more time with family.  This was reported by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

“I am stepping away from the NFL at this time in order to spend more time with my wife, Tara, and our children, Gavin and Gabrielle,” Greene said in a Packers release “I will miss coaching and will try to return after our kids move on to college if a team will have me.”

Greene joined the Packers under defensive coordinator Dom Capers in 2009 and brought with him the same passion and enthusiasm that he played the game with.  Greene thanked the organization for the opportunity to coach and had nothing but good things to say about the Packers.  Packers head coach Mike McCarthy reiterated his respect and appreciation for Greene.

This leaves the Packers now searching for a coach on both sides of the ball.  Earlier this week, Ben McAdoo accepted the offensive coordinator position with the New York Giants after serving as tight ends and quarterbacks coach for the Packers.

There hasn’t been any early chatter as to who might take over Greene’s position and whether that person is currently on the Packers’ staff or if they would come from the outside.

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Jason Perone is an independent sports blogger writing about the Packers on AllGreenBayPackers.com

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32 thoughts on “Packers Assistant Coach Steps Down

  1. Meh.

    Greene was a fan favorite because of his persona, but I don’t know there is any evidence that suggests he was a must-keep coach.

    Before you hem and haw, ask yourself this: Outside of Clay Matthews, have you been impressed with our OLB play?

    I would have liked to see Greene stay because I like his intensity; but I have zero concerns about his leaving, because I haven’t seen proof that he’s done anything more than average with out stable of OLB’s.

    1. Zombo was a UDFA that turned into a serviceable role player on the 2010 team. It would be fair to give Greene some of the credit for that. Walden had some moments that season, too, and he was someone TT picked off the scrap heap.

      1. Fair enough, but what coach is so bad that he’s unable to turn out “serviceable role players” and guys who “have some moments”?

        1. He was able to. Zombo got hurt. He was OK in KC this year. Walden will never be all-pro, but he made some plays once in a while and still does.

          Keeping the stars performing at star level is one thing, but it’s also important to coach guys like Zombo up to a level where they can contribute.

          1. I think we’re not understanding each other. I’m saying, Virtually ANY coach will be able to turn out serviceable role players.

  2. Bummer – he was always a good quote and IMO did some lighting of fires behind the defensive players butts (who routinely needed it).

    I’d bet Winston Moss just takes over the entire LB group. I think GB was the only team in the NFL with an ILB and an OLB position coach.

    1. Winston is in an odd position to be sure.

      He was the LB coach before Greene was brought in, but he was also (and still is, to the best of my knowledge) labeled as an “assistant head coach” as well.

      My take on that label is it’s simply a way to keep other teams from taking Winston Moss away from the Packers unless he’s offered a head coaching position.

      The NFL has rules that keep teams from pirating away assistant coaches who are under contract UNLESS the job being offered is a promotion.. in other words, the Bears can not steal away a position coach who is under contract with the Packers with a position coach job offer, but they could steal a positional coach who is under contract with the Packers if they offered him a Coordinator or Head Coaching position.

      Moss can’t be stolen with a Coordinator job, because the Packers can claim that an “assistant head coach” position trumps a OC or DC role.

      1. Actually this is something of a debate, mostly because very little is actually known about what an assistant head coach really is. My guess is that if another team really wanted to hire Moss as a coordinator and the Packers blocked it, the other team would likely have to go through arbitration to determine whether or not becoming a coordinator would be a promotion. The Miami Dolphins recently had a situation like this where it appeared like their GM wasn’t going to be given full control over the roster and hence another team blocked their interview request

    2. One possible reason might be that Moss is also assistant head coach, which I presume entail additional responsibilities that would take up his time, hence maybe why the Packers decided to hire another LB coach to lighten his load somewhat.

  3. Good luck Kevin, I know we wish you and your family the best!!
    Hopefully TT and MM and DC put some time and effort into the whole coaching staff and not just hire new people to fill in the blanks!!! Go Pack!!!

  4. So…..while everybody else is hiring, firing, moving and shaking, after a season that totally exposed this team as a one trick pony, what have we done? In true TT style, absolutely nothing. He “likes our guys” Guess that includes coaches like Capers, Slocum, Campen etc. He won’t sign any impact FA’s so don’t get your hopes up. He does realize the talent level now leaves much to be desired. Solution, trade down and select more mediocre players and street free agents… He loved to unearth those gems. Too bad his high picks have them in the situation we’re in now. HOF back to back qb’s have masked exactly how completely overrated both upper management and coaching really is.

    1. The only ‘moving and shaking that’s been done is by loser teams that fired their head coach and the entire staff, often enough including the GM. Those same teams will use the offseason to start completely over and hope, maybe, that they can get into the playoffs 3 to 5 years from now.

      Is that really what would satisfy you for the Packers? Really?

  5. I read where the same argument arises as to the ability of Greene to develop or is it the lack of ability in the players…as with Capers.

    I give Greene some leeway since I have never since day one felt Perry to be an LB and the transition of Neal to hybrid has a couple of glimmers but not nearly enough to make a strong attempt to retain his services.

    Perry will get another chance to prove a value though I have not been swayed enough to alter any previous mindsets of him but although it may be a tad unfair,a break out of Perry and a rise to overall LB play may offer answer to Greens’ real ability the last 5 years but I wouldn’t bet on it.IMO,a more truer OLB will be a need of priority next draft.

    1. Perry and Neal are a player type that can fill a specific defensive role, an OLB that can line up along the line and hold against the run. That kind of player should be on the field a lot as a complement to Matthews.

      That said I agree that they need another ‘true’ OLB, one who is not a conversion project like Mulumba is and Moses was.

  6. This is not an easy decision for a former player, turned coach, to make. How long has this been discussed at home? How much was his time monopolized by thoughts of leaving? I don’t doubt his professionalism, but his coaching may have been compromised. Just throwing it out there…just a thought…

  7. at the risk of being called a troll, i think bobby D is spot on…”he likes our guys”…you mean you like the guys you drafted and wont say you were wrong on some of them…”develop”…starting to hate that word….

  8. Just a thought. .is there any correlation between Capers remaining as the Packers DC and Greene leaving?

    1. That sounds a little off but only because he played for Capers in Pittsburgh and then went to Carolina when Capers was HC. Throw in that he never coached before coming to Green Bay and only coached for Capers…. Maybe he knows something we don’t.

  9. I’m sure there is more to this than meets the eye. The rats are leaving the sinking ship so to speak. Kevin was the one coach that should have stayed and maybe even been promoted. It’s hard to soar with the Eagles when you have to work with Turkeys. That, “Leaving to pursue other interests” is used a lot and I’m sure this is one of those times. The defense needs to be overhauled but the Pack will have to be out of the play offs for another year or two before that happens. It should have happened this year but they were the best of the worst.

    1. I agree that there are bigger issues. A head coach or coordinator leaves because he wants to spend more time with his family. A position coach who only has OLBs shouldn’t be playing that card. I am sure that he is busy coaching up all those DEs and UDFA that Ted is dropping in his lap but really.

      Since people are mentioning Winston Moss, surely he must miss his family. The linebackers on this team are average at best. A 3-4 depends on the linebackers to be play-makers. With the talent that we have at linebacker, Moss can’t be far behind with family issues.

      1. Coaches are coaches they all put in 80 hr work weeks and take work home w them. No reason to question Greenes motives whatsoever!

    2. The Packers were missing their 1st round picks from 2009, 10, 11, and 2012 for parts or all of the season. They were playing without 3 second round picks for most of the season from 2010 & 2011. They played 8 games without Rodgers, at times had only Jordy Nelson to line up at WR with Boykin. If losing ALL those players mostly starters wasn’t enough, throw in Finley, Shields, and Jolly to name a few and it’s not a sinking ship, it’s a enough to fill a hospital wing.

  10. Greene probably threatened to pop TT’s head off of his shoulders like a zit if he didn’t straighten his azz out. TT is forcing him to resign. Watch out in the dark alleys TT, Greene may be lurking and ready to pop that zit that sits on your shoulders…

  11. it might just be what it is -20+ years of devoting all your time to football the travel the long hours etc and what good is all the money if you cannot enjoy it.

    1. More than that, Greene never coached anywhere before his time with Green Bay. Maybe he just doesn’t really like it that much…

      1. Greene spent a few seasons interning as a coaching assistant before his first real job in Green Bay, i think it was in Miama, not sure.. but it was probably the same kind of hours as he put in as a position coach.

        1. He spent time as a coaching intern during training camps IIRC. Don’t remember where either. Pretty sure he only helped out during training camps tho.

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