Green Bay Packers announce coaching staff changes

The Green Bay Packers are promoting John Dunn to their tight ends coach, the team announced on Saturday afternoon. The franchise also announced that Maurice Drayton will not return as Green Bay’s special teams coordinator next season. There were reports that Drayton would be fired as early as Feb. 1, but the team didn’t make it official until this afternoon.

Dunn is entering his sixth NFL season and second with Green Bay. He played college football at North Carolina (2001-2003) and started his coaching career at his alma mater as well. He worked as a senior analyst with Green Bay last season.

The Packers were bounced by the San Francisco 49ers 13-10 in the second round of the 2022 NFL Playoffs, and a big part of that was due their horrendous play on special teams.

On the final play of the game, the Packers only lined up 10 men on the field when San Francisco lined up to drill the game-winning kick.

The NFL’s worst special teams unit turned in one of the worst special teams performances in NFL playoff history … and appears to have had only 10 men on the field for the winning field goal. pic.twitter.com/bJvPtHYXkQ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 23, 2022

Green Bay had awful special teams’ all season long and unfortunately for Drayton, it reared its ugly head when it mattered most for the franchise –the playoffs. He’s coached in the NFL for six seasons, including the last four on the special teams staff for the Packers (assistant from 2018-2020).

The 49ers also blocked a Green Bay field goal attempt before the end of the first half. San Francisco also scored their lone touchdown of the game on special teams. They blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, which ended up being massive in deciding the final outcome.

The heartbreaking end to their season was a huge disappointment for the Packers players, fans, and everyone associated with the franchise. Green Bay had looked like one of the most complete teams in the NFL for much of the 2021-2022 season, but they couldn’t get it done when it counted the most and that’s going to sting for a long, long time.

Their former offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, was recently hired as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. The future of soon-to-be Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers is up in the air.

Perhaps the fact that the Packers squandered their last chance with Rodgers and Davante Adams, one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in NFL history, will sting the most.

Much like the Cowboys, Green Bay had an incredible regular season full of great moments and broken records. But not being able to get it done in the playoffs will be the feeling that lingers for many involved with the franchise.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the Packers, but much like previous off-seasons, a lot of that will hinge on what Aaron Rodgers decides to do.