Green Bay Packers Fire Defensive and Conditioning Staff

The Green Bay Packers made their first move in response to their terrible season, firing Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders, Defensive Ends Coach Carl Hairston, Defensive Tackles Coach Robert Nunn, Secondary Coach Kurt Schottenheimer, Defensive Nickel Package/Cornerbacks Coach Lionel Washington, and Strength & Conditioning Coordinator Rock Gullickson.

According to the Packers Web site, Mike McCarthy said, "These are difficult decisions. I hold each of these men in high regard on a personal level, and I want to thank them for their service to the Green Bay Packers."

I would agree with a few of them having given the Packers good service, but there are coaches that I would not have fired—Schottenheimer, Washington, and maybe even Sanders.

But, no one can argue that a team that has been plagued with injuries all season was ready from a strength-and-conditioning standpoint. I don't know if any coach in the league did as poor a job as Gullickson.

We have some of the league's best cornerbacks and even those with little experience, thrown into the fire, like Tramon Williams, played well. We often had two or three safeties hurt and still had a pretty good pass defense despite no pass rush. Moreover, when the personnel was healthy, Sanders had a good defense.

However, our defensive tackles' skills have not developed, and we have had trouble stopping the run for several seasons. We had no pass rush once we lost Cullen Jenkins.

This could have been due to personnel problems, but assuming that would have meant firing Thompson, which likely would have made sweeping changes in coaching staff, player personnel, and set the team's progress back significantly.

However, there are a number of possibilities that could make the other coaches' firings worthwhile...

Fired Lions' head coach, Rod Marinelli, would be a great defensive coordinator, having done well in Tampa Bay and bringing some much-needed toughness and accountability to the unit as well as division knowledge. The Packers' personnel are better suited for man-to-man coverage than the Tampa-Two zone, but if Nick Barnett really wants to stay at the Mike linebacker, he is the right guy for that system.

The Packers could go to a 3-4 defense, which is much more versatile and difficult to pick apart. It opens the door for more blitz options, creating a more consistent pass rush, more complex coverages that are harder to read, and would still allow the Packers to play a considerable amount of man-to-man coverage.

In order to have the personnel to convert to that defense, Green Bay would need to use a first-round draft pick to get an undersized defensive end who can play outside linebacker. There are three candidates who fit that bill, as outlined by my colleague, Zach Kruse— Brian Orakpo, Michael Johnson, and Everette Brown. All are under 270 pounds but very athletic, and at least one, will be available with the ninth pick.

The Packers could put any one of them on one side, and play Brady Poppinga (already used as a rushing end on passing downs) as the other. That leaves Barnett and A.J. Hawk as inside linebackers; both play well there.

All-Pro Aaron Kampman and Jenkins can handle the defensive end responsibilities in a 3-4 as easily as a 4-3. That would allow the Packers weakest defensive position, tackle, to have the responsibilities distributed among fewer players. Johnny Jolly is an ideal nose tackle in the 3-4.

Let's hope the firings came with a plan for a new path and were not a knee-jerk reaction to poor performance. We all have seen what happens when you do not have an exit strategy.