In an offseason that has been filled with coaching hires of names that not many have heard of before, the Green Bay Packers may have made their most underrated offseason move (so far) in bringing back former wide receivers coach Luke Getsy, who will now take his turn in coaching the quarterbacks.
Someone that Aaron Rodgers vouched for in the offensive staff turnover, Getsy returns to Green Bay after going back to coach for his former college coach and mentor Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State, where he was the Bulldog’s offensive coordinator. Only lasting there a year before being called back to the NFL, Getsy will look to take all the knowledge he had when coaching up Davante Adams and company and using that to better Rodgers and Deshone Kizer.
An interesting hire who has never directly coached a quarterback grouping, Getsy is an underrated hire simply because of the level of trust that Rodgers has with him. When there seemed to be a turnstile of offensive positional group assistants going in and out during Mike McCarthy’s last few seasons, Getsy seemed to be one of the most impressionable on Rodgers, leading to his return.
Getsy was brought to Green Bay the first time around for the 2014 season, after being the Western Michigan Broncos Wide Receivers coach. In his first season for the Packers, he was the team’s offensive quality control guy, helping all areas of the offensive function. The following season, Getsy was promoted to receivers coach after a staff realignment, helping lead Adams, Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson to having 60+ receptions and 600+ receiving yards each, one of two teams that season to reach that feat.
He also helped Nelson lead the NFL in touchdown receptions with 14 and Adams earn second by hauling in 12. Adams had career highs (at that moment) in receptions, yardage and touchdowns under Getsy, and this was the second Packers team in franchise history to have two players with 12+ receiving touchdowns in a season, after Nelson and Cobb achieved the same mark in 2014.
Helping coach quarterbacks will present Getsy with an interesting challenge, but Rodgers would not have vouched for him a few years back if he did not believe in his abilities. And while it will most likely never be confirmed, it is easy to tell that Rodgers had a say in who he wanted to be coaching him in 2019, and it’s a safe bet to say that he recommended bringing Getsy back.
Having someone that new head coach Matt LaFleur can go to to help him understand Rodgers and how he should call plays is key, especially in his first season leading the team. LaFleur will lean on anyone who has experience with this team, and besides defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, LaFleur will be in the ear of Getsy the most, soaking up as much information as he can in order to put a successful game plan together.
While positional coaching hires are normally not seen as being real important, to have a solid supporting cast for a superstar is exactly what this team needs to get back on its feet. Whether Getsy is able to improve the team’s efficiency from the get-go is yet to be seen, the odds are much higher with him rather than someone that Rodgers has never worked with.
Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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