Told there's a strong chance that coach Matt LaFleur will promote from within to fill the special teams coordinator job.
Maurice Drayton was No. 2 on the special teams staff and is expected to get the first shot at it. https://t.co/TkjuwkeU3s
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 27, 2021
The Green Bay Packers are making a change at special teams coordinator, but even parting ways with Shawn Mennenga doesn’t mean an outsider will take over the team’s third phase in 2021.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, there’s a “strong chance” the Packers will promote from within to replace Mennenga as special teams coordinator.
The obvious candidate: assistant special teams coach Maurice Drayton.
The Packers let go of Mennenga after two poor seasons on special teams. Drayton, who has been in Green Bay since 2018, has five years of experience as an assistant coach on special teams but has never been a coordinator at the NFL level.
Former coach Mike McCarthy originally hired Drayton as an assistant in 2018. He worked under Ron Zook during his first season and Mennenga each of the last two seasons.
It’s unclear why the Packers would prefer an internal promotion over adding a coordinator from outside the organization. Brayden Coombs, who was connected with the Packers’ job in 2019 and led the Detroit Lions’ special teams in 2020, is available.
According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Drayton was a candidate to be the coordinator in 2019 and has a “strong reputation around the league,” potentially shining a light on why LaFleur would want to make the switch from Mennenga to Drayton now.
#Packers asst. Maurice Drayton was a strong candidate when Mennenga was hired and has a strong reputation around the league. Just because he was the assistant doesn’t mean he would run things the same way. https://t.co/Ne89ajclo8
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) January 27, 2021
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