Tag: Maurice Drayton

Former Packers special teams coach Maurice Drayton hired by Raiders

The Packers hired former Raiders coach Rich Bisaccia to replace Maurice Drayton, who is headed to Las Vegas to be an assistant special teams coach.

Former Green Bay Packers special teams coach Maurice Drayton joined Josh McDaniels’ first coaching staff with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Drayton, who coordinated the Packers special teams for one disastrous season in 2021, was hired as the Raiders assistant special teams coach under coordinator Tom McMahon.

The Packers fired Drayton following a stunning playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers and hired Rich Bisaccia, the Raiders special teams coordinator and interim head coach last season.

Green Bay’s special teams were a disaster for much of Drayton’s only season as coordinator. In the playoff loss, the Packers had a field goal and punt blocked. The hope is Bisaccia, one of the most well-respected coordinators in football, can turn the third phase around for the Packers in 2022.

LaFleur called hiring Bisaccia a “big-time win” for the Packers.

Meanwhile, Drayton will get a second chance in Las Vegas.

He spent four seasons in Green Bay, including three as an assistant. He took over the coordinator job after LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga following the 2020 season.

Drayton joins several former Packers coaches on the staff. Former Packers linebackers coach Patrick Graham is the Raiders defensive coordinator, and he brought former Packers secondary coach Jason Simmons with him. Long-time Packers running back and assistant coach Edgar Bennet was retained on McDaniels’ offensive staff as the wide receivers coach.

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Packers officially dismiss Maurice Drayton, promote John Dunn to TE coach

The Packers parted ways with special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton and promoted senior analyst John Dunn to TE coaches.

The Green Bay Packers officially dismissed special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton and promoted from within to replace tight ends coach Justin Outten.

The team announced Drayton will not return as special teams coordinator in 2022, and coach Matt LaFleur promoted senior analyst John Dunn to tight ends coach.

Drayton was the assistant special teams coordinator for three seasons in Green Bay (2018-20) before LaFleur promoted him to coordinator for the 2021 season. The Packers struggled mightily on special teams, culminating in a calamitous performance in the NFC divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers that featured a blocked field goal and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.

It was reported earlier this week that Drayton wouldn’t return.

LaFleur’s statement on Drayton: “We are grateful for all that Mo brought to our team the last several seasons. He is a great man who is loved by our players and coaches and contributed a lot to our success. We wish nothing but the best for Mo, Tonya and the rest of their family moving forward.”

The Packers are targeting former Raiders interim coach and long-time special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia to replace Drayton, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dunn, who is entering his second season in Green Bay, previously worked as a tight ends coach with the New York Jets (2019-20). He played quarterback and tight end at North Carolina.

Dunn is replacing Outten, who left Green Bay to be the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.

LaFleur must now find a special teams coordinator and quarterbacks coach to put the finishing touches on his coaching staff for 2022.

Packers moving on from ST coordinator Maurice Drayton after one season

The Packers will not return special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton after the 2021 season, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

After a season-long nightmare on special teams, the Green Bay Packers are making another change in the leadership of the third phase.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers won’t return special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton.

Drayton was promoted from assistant to coordinator after coach Matt LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga after last season. But Drayton’s one season in charge was nothing short of a disaster, with frequent mistakes occurring across all aspects of the special teams and a calamitous final performance helping bounce the Packers from the playoffs.

According to Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, the Packers finished dead last at 32nd overall.

Green Bay’s special teams had missed field goals, blocked field goals, blocked punts, turnovers on returns and issues covering punts and kicks.

In the divisional round, a blocked field goal, a long kickoff return and a blocked punt all contributed to the Packers losing 13-10 to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field.

The compounding mistakes and the playoff meltdown gave LaFleur few other options than to make a change.

In 2022, the Packers will have their fourth different special teams coordinator in the last five years. The next hire will join Drayton, Mennenga and Ron Zook.

Drayton was originally hired by Mike McCarthy and served as an assistant under both Mennenga and Zook before getting the coordinator job.

Firing coordinators is nothing new in Green Bay. The big question becomes: Will the organization finally put more value into special teams and recommit to making sure the third phase isn’t holding back the rest of the team? Finding the next coordinator is just the first step. The Packers need an organizational refresh on special teams, from coaching to commitment to personnel.

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur not considering making change at special teams coordinator

The Packers will stick with special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton despite Sunday night’s calamity of errors.

Despite a calamity of errors from his special teams on Sunday night at Lambeau Field, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he is not considering making a change at coordinator.

He dismissed the possibility without hesitation when asked immediately following the Packers’ 45-30 win over the Chicago Bears.

While his job may not be in jeopardy come Monday morning, Maurice Drayton’s group had nothing short of a nightmare of a night in primetime.

The Packers special teams allowed 213 return yards in the first half, including a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown and two kickoff returns of at least 40 yards. Mason Crosby had a kickoff go out of bounds, and Malik Taylor muffed a kickoff return out of bounds at the 5-yard line. Overall, the Packers gave the Bears starting field position of the 40-yard line or better four times in the first half, and Chicago used the short fields to score 27 points.

The second half was only slightly better.

Corey Bojorquez produced a 22-yard punt, Amari Rodgers had a muffed punt return negated by penalty, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling muffed an onside kick recovery.

Thanks to NFL rules, the Bears weren’t allowed to advance the muffed punt or the muffed onside recovery, or both could have resulted in touchdowns. On the muffed punt, a penalty on the Bears gunner for going out of bounds negated the play entirely.

The Bears finished the game with 259 return yards on five kickoff returns and three punt returns. Grant’s 97-yard touchdown was both the first punt return for a touchdown in the NFL this season and the 10th longest punt return in NFL history.

It’s hard to remember a more thorough collapse from the Packers special teams in recent team history.

Drayton, who is in his first season in a lead role, replaced Shawn Mennenga as the Packers special teams coordinator in 2021. The promotion of Drayton from assistant to coordinator has done nothing to solve the team’s consistent issues in the third phase.

One bright spot on Sunday night was the field goal operation. Crosby hit his only field goal attempt and all six of his extra points. Sunday night marked the first time Crosby hasn’t missed a field goal in a game since Oct. 28. The veteran kicker has missed an NFL-high nine field goals and an extra point this season.

The Packers are rarely rash with coaching decisions, especially firings. LaFleur will give Drayton more time to get his group fixed, but he’s running out of time and the stakes are only getting higher. Drayton has four more regular season games to iron out the wrinkles before the Packers enter the win-or-go-home tournament known as the NFL playoffs.

Making a change at coordinator wouldn’t guarantee improvement, but LaFleur is risking the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes if the Drayton’s special teams end up becoming a fatal flaw in the postseason.

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Packers announce hiring of Joe Barry, promotion of Maurice Drayton

#Packers name Joe Barry defensive coordinator & promote Maurice Drayton to special teams coordinator https://t.co/ZMdxnXt3w7 – Green Bay Packers (@packers) February 8, 2021 Matt LaFleur’s coaching changes at defensive coordinator and special teams …

Matt LaFleur’s coaching changes at defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator are official.

The Green Bay Packers announced Joe Barry as the new defensive coordinator and Maurice Drayton as the new special teams coordinator.

Barry replaces Mike Pettine, who served three seasons as the Packers defensive coordinator. Previously a coordinator for the Detroit Lions (2007-08) and Washington Football Team (2015-16), Barry spent the last four seasons as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. He worked alongside LaFleur for one season in Los Angeles in 2017. Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Chargers had picked Barry to be the defense’s passing game coordinator before he earned the job in Green Bay.

Drayton was promoted from assistant special teams coach to coordinator, replacing Shawn Mennenga, who led disappointing units each of the last two seasons. Drayton has five years of experience as an assistant at the NFL level, including three in Green Bay and two in Indianapolis.

The Packers announced no other coaching moves on Monday. It’s unclear how Barry and Drayton will fill out their respective staffs, although changes are to be expected.

Packers ‘did not want to lose’ new special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton

Packers coach Matt LaFleur feared losing Maurice Drayton, who he promoted to be the new special teams coordinator.

Expected outside interest played a role in Maurice Drayton becoming the new special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Drayton, the team’s assistant on special teams over the last three years, will take over the coordinator role after the Packers parted ways with Shawn Mennenga following two disappointing seasons.

On Monday, LaFleur said Drayton is an “excellent teacher” and “excellent communicator” who has both “energy and enthusiasm” in the role, and the Packers coach went into the process believing Drayton was on the verge of becoming a special teams coordinator, whether it was in Green Bay or elsewhere.

Instead of making an outside hire, LaFleur promoted Drayton to keep him with the Packers.

“I really think he can elevate our level of play in that area,” LaFleur said. “Guy that’s been here for a while now. Had the opportunity to interview him in the first go-around, was super impressed with him, I just didn’t know a whole lot around him. After being around him for two years now, I think it was just a matter of time before he got one of these other opportunities that presented itself outside of this building. Did not want to lose a guy like Mo Drayton.”

The promotion will give Drayton a chance to turn around a phase of the game that hasn’t been good or even competent in Green Bay in years.

Mike McCarthy originally hired Drayton as the special teams assistant under Ron Zook in 2018. LaFleur retained him after becoming the coach in 2019 but did not promote him, choosing instead to keep Drayton in the assistant role under Mennenga.

Two years working on LaFleur’s staff gave the Packers coach the necessary confidence to promote him to coordinator.

Drayton has five years of experience as an assistant, having served two years with the Indianapolis Colts under Tom McMahon, who has coordinated special teams in the NFL during every season since 2009.

McMahon told Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated that he thinks Drayton will get the Packers special teams – ranked 26th and 29th in Rick Gosselin’s rankings the last two years – back into the top five in the league.

“I think he’s going to excel. I think the core, the specialists, the building, I think they found themselves a special guy,” McMahon said.

Drayton, a collegiate cornerback at The Citadel, has 22 years of coaching experience.

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Report: Packers promoting Maurice Drayton to special teams coordinator

The Packers are promoting assistant Maurice Drayton to special teams coordinator, replacing Shawn Mennenga.

The Green Bay Packers have a new special teams coordinator.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Packers are promoting assistant special teams coach Maurice Drayton to coordinator, replacing Shawn Mennenga.

Drayton, who has 22 years of coaching experience, was originally hired as a special teams assistant by Mike McCarthy in 2018. He spent one year under special teams coordinator Ron Zook and was retained as an assistant by Matt LaFleur after interviewing for the coordinator job in 2019. Over the last two seasons, he’s assisted Mennenga, who is being let go.

Drayton also spent two years as an assistant special teams coach in Indianapolis. After five years working under coordinators, he’ll now get a chance at the lead role for the Packers in 2021.

Drayton has work to do. In Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, the Packers finished dead last in 2018, 29th in 2019 and 26th in 2020. He will need significant improvement to bring the Packers out of the bottom third of the NFL in special teams.

Drayton coached for 14 seasons at the collegiate ranks, including nine years at The Citadel, his alma mater. He has also coached in the CFL and European Football League.

Drayton played cornerback during his college playing days at The Citadel.

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Report: Packers likely to promote from within to fill special teams coaching vacancy

Maurice Drayton would be the obvious internal candidate to replace Shawn Mennenga as Packers special teams coordinator.

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.

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