Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst met with the media for about an hour to put a bow on the 2020 season.
The Packers were left in a Super Bowl game for the second season in a row, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship. Both LaFleur and Gutekunst discussed the loss and the future we had in Green Bay.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the Packers end-of-season press conference:
1 Aaron Rodgers is the Packers QB in 2021 and maybe beyond?
AP Photo / Jeffrey Phelps
There is no longer any uncertainty about who will be the Packers quarterback in 2021. It’s Aaron Rodgers, as LaFleur and Gutekunst insisted on Monday. LaFleur said Rodgers will be “absolutely” his quarterback “for a long time”, while Gutekunst has repeatedly committed to Rodgers for both 2021 and the future and said there is no scenario in which he will change this. low season.
Read the full story here.
Gutekunst said he does not regret the writing of Jordan Love, whom he called a talented person. The Packers remain committed to using resources to acquire and develop players in the quarterback position.
2 LaFleur is to blame
LaFleur said a breakdown in communication between him and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was to blame for the Buccaneers’ touchdown before the end of the first half of the NFC title game, and took full blame for not rectifying the situation before it ended in a game. changing score.
“The bottom line is that all calls go through me,” LaFleur said. I don’t care who makes the call, it’s my fault. Bottom line. I am responsible for all calls, attacks, defense, special teams. Every call happens to me. If I’m never satisfied with a call, I have a chance to do something about it. That’s all I’m going to say about it. “
The inexplicable touchdown gave the Buccaneers a 21-10 lead at halftime, and the Packers eventually lost by five points.
Read the full story here.
3 Maurice Drayton confirmed as special teams coordinator
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LaFleur confirmed that Maurice Drayton, Shawn Mennenga’s assistant for the past two years, will take on the Packers ’special teams in 2021.
“He’s a great teacher, a great communicator,” LaFleur said. “So much energy and enthusiasm. I really think it can raise our level of play in this area. A guy who has been here for a long time. I had the opportunity to interview him on the first tour, I was very impressed, I just didn’t know much about it. After being around for two years, I think it was only a matter of time before I had one of those other opportunities that presented itself outside of this building. I didn’t want to lose a guy like Mo Drayton. “
Drayton has five seasons of experience as an assistant coach of special teams, including the last three seasons at Green Bay.
Read more about Drayton here.
4 Clear vision of the next defensive coordinator
LaFleur said the Packers have a “clear vision” of what the team is looking for in the next defensive coordinator. Although he did not reveal exactly what he was looking for, he has spoken to several head coaches and defensive coordinators about possible candidates. Part of the process is finding the right “mindset”.
“You want to make people gain every inch on the grass,” LaFleur said. “There’s a certain mindset that you have to have and that you have to carry on a daily basis.”
LaFleur said he will interview at least one internal candidate for the position.
Here we highlighted 15 candidates for defensive coordinators.
5 LaFleur doesn’t regret the last field goal
AP Photo / Jeffrey Phelps
When asked if he would throw the field goal again in the quarter-finals at the end of the quarter-finals, LaFleur defended his controversial decision and explained in more detail the thought process behind settling for the three points. the eight-point line.
LaFleur said he spoke with the team’s analysis director before the play and decided the two options were not very different in terms of overall victory probability. I knew the defense had to make a stop in either scenario. When kicking the field goal, the packers opened up the possibility of winning the match by regulation.
“No matter how you cut, you had to stop defensively,” LaFleur said.
However, LaFleur said not getting yards in the previous three plays took the decision very seriously.
“If I had to do it again, if it’s the 4th and the 8-yard line goal, we’re throwing the goal,” LaFleur said. “If it is the fourth and goal of the five, I think we have a different discussion. You have to play the percentages. “
He said he “probably should have communicated” the thought process in the third and fourth down to Aaron Rodgers previously, but he appreciated his quarterback’s desire to go get him for fourth.
6 assistant coach departures
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LaFleur confirmed that offensive quality control assistant Kevin Koger is heading to the Los Angeles Chargers to be the new coach of the close team, while senior analyst Butch Barry will go to San Francisco to be the 49ers offensive line assistant coach. Both are promotions.
“I wish I could have had something here for them,” LaFleur said. “But every time you see guys who are able to get opportunities to improve themselves, both professionally and to better the lives of their families, that’s important to us. I certainly don’t want to leave people behind on these opportunities. We will miss them, but we wish them well ”.
Despite leading the league in scoring, the Packers lost only two low-level assistant coaches to LaFleur’s staff.
7 GM packers ready for a single year
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Gutekunst said he believes he will be able to spend a challenging season without “destroying” his team. The Packers have several important free agents to deal with to start the new league year and a tough financial situation with a salary cap reduced due to the revenue lost by the pandemic.
“It’s a unique year, it’s very challenging, obviously we’re not the only team that has these challenges. I feel very comfortable, we have been working on this all year, preparing for what will happen over the next three or four months, ”Gutekunst said.
He admitted that “tough decisions” will come and the team will have to let go of the players and probably restructure the offers for others, but he has worked with Russ Ball all year to prepare a plan.
Gutekunst said he expects the cap to fall off. The floor is $ 175 million, though the team has not received an exact number for 2021.
Asked about the restructuring of Aaron Rodgers’ contract, Gutekunst opted for an answer.
8 Patient with Bakhtiari
AP Photo / Jeffrey Phelps, Archive
Gutekunst will not leave “anything past” left for David Bakhtiari when he returns from an ACL injury, but the Packers will be patient during his recovery.
“It’s a major injury, obviously, and it’s such an important part of our long-term franchise, that we won’t rush it because it’s too important for us. But nothing happens to it, it’s true,” Gutekunst said.
Bakhtiari was injured during training before week 17. He will be challenged to return to playing condition before week 1 next season.
9 Indebtedness of future years
AP Photo / Mike Roemer
Gutekunst said packers are willing (and probably required to) to restructure the deals and allocate money in the coming years to keep their list together in 2021.
“We’ll have to do it this year, for sure,” Gutekunst said.
He confirmed that the Packers are ready to risk winning now, even if it means hurting future bosses. Several veteran players, including Aaron Rodgers, could be candidates to rework deals. Turning wages into spreadsheets spread over many years is an easy way to create immediate boundary space.
“With this year’s situation, I think most teams will be making money to try to keep their teams together, and we certainly won’t be any different,” Gutekunst said.
10 Other nuggets
– LaFleur said he would be willing to give up calls if he improved the team overall and has full confidence in coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to call plays, but has no plans to stop playing.
– LaFleur praised receiver Márquez Valdés-Scantling for overcoming the adversities of his season and gaining confidence as a player. He said MVS can go for any defensive defense in the league and now the team has more confidence in their ability.
– Gutekunst refuted a report saying the Rams were trying to switch to Aaron Rodgers. “There is no truth.”
– Gutekunst said he would love to return runner Aaron Jones, but admitted he will have a hard time recovering any of his free agents without restrictions in 2021.
– Gutekunst is not worried about the schematic style of the next defensive coordinator. He believes he has flexible and versatile players who can adapt to any scheme.
– Gutekunst said he would like more production from the inside defense point, but said he is excited about the potential of some young players in the position.