One Fact About Every 2017 Packers Coach
If you stop a fan walking around Lambeau Field on a game day and ask them to name the Packers coaching staff, you’ve probably got better things to do.
If the fan you stop is in a good mood – and hasn’t had too many adult beverages – it’s likely you’ll hear of McCarthy, Dom Capers, Edgar Bennett and maybe Ron Zook.
The Packers coaching staff is full of fascinating men who have either played collegiately or professionally, and have crossed paths with some of the game’s best.
Here’s one fact about every coach on the roster.
Head coach Mike McCarthy
Known for his relatively reserved personality, McCarthy occasionally really opens up to share some great stories, like this gem about his time coaching with Jon Gruden at the University of Pittsburgh:
"He lived in the North Hills, off McKnight Road, in a condo," recalled Mike McCarthy, then a Pitt graduate assistant who toiled alongside Gruden. "One day, he was coming out of his place at 4:30 in the morning, and he got sprayed by a skunk. The woods up there, he must've surprised it. The stuff was all over him.
Offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett
When Bennett first rejoined the Packers as the director of player programs, one of his first major duties with the team was to quell a minor kerfuffle over Kabeer Gbajia-Biamila’s plans to skip a game to be present for the birth of his child.
Tight ends coach Brian Angelichio
As a quarterback for Ilion High School in upstate New York, Angelichio led his Golden Bombers to a Section 3 Class C state championship in 1990 over Indian River despite completing only three passes in the entire game. One went for a 46-yard touchdown, another went 61 yards to set up a touchdown run and a third was a 25-yard completion to put Ilion near the goalline.
Offensive line coach James Campen
Served as a reserve sheriff’s deputy in New Orleans and works as a volunteer with the Green Bay Police Department.
Assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko
Blasko and wide receivers coach Luke Getsy played together for Steel Valley High School in the early 2000’s. Getsy, a quarterback, even found Blasko for a 20-yard touchdown in a September 23, 2000 loss against Jeannette.
Wide receivers coach Luke Getsy
Getsy started the season opener at quarterback for the Pitt Panthers as a 19-year-old redshirt freshmen after the team’s starter was suspended for the first quarter.
The following season, Getsy narrowly lost a competition for the starting job to future NFL journeyman Tyler Palko. He transferred to Akron the following year after finding himself behind both Palko and Joe Flacco on the depth chart.
Offensive perimeter coach David Raih
Raih played quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was a teammate with future Packers defensive lineman Aaron Kampman.
Running backs coach Ben Sirmans
While coaching Michigan State in the mid-2000’s, Sirmans took over coaching the Spartans’ special teams after future University of Florida head coach Jim McElwain left to become the Raiders’ quarterback coach.
Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt
Van Pelt was stuck behind junior starting quarterback Darnell Dickerson on the Pitt Panthers’ depth chart before Dickerson flunked an algebra course, was declared academically ineligible and left school to play minor league baseball.
Van Pelt would start four years for Pitt and broke many of Dan Marino’s school records.
Associate head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss
The former Buccaneers linebacker had a three-hour face-to-face contract negotiation with the team’s front office to end a seven-day training camp holdout in 1990. Moss would sign a two-year, $1.1 million contract.
Defensive coordinator Dom Capers
In the summer of 2013, Capers met with then-Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to discuss Green Bay’s struggles defending the read-option. Two years later, Aranda was interviewed for a position with the Packers that ultimately went to Jerry Montgomery.
Assistant linebackers coach Scott McCurley
McCurley helped coached the scout team as a graduate assistant with the University of Pittsburgh. During his time with the Panthers, the scout team featured Getsy and future Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
Defensive quality control coach Tim McGarigle
McGarigle finished his playing career at Northwestern in 2005 as the NCAA Division I-A record holder in total tackles with 545. He still holds the official NCAA record.
Defensive front assistant Jerry Montgomery
Before joining the Packers, Montgomery was the defensive coordinator for Bob Stoops in Oklahoma. There, he was ranked as one of the top ten recruiters in the country by FOX Sports (this was back when they actually wrote articles).
Safeties coach Darren Perry
Perry injured his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae in 1999 while with the San Diego Chargers. The safety took a year off before joining the New Orleans Saints for a single season.
As the safeties coach for the Packers in 2011, Nick Collins bruised his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae (the higher the number, the higher up on the spine) and was forced to retire.
Defensive line coach Mike Trgovac
When the Packers hired Mike McCarthy as head coach in 2006, Trgovac was a hot name as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers.
Carolina’s postseason success – the Panthers lost to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game – likely kept him from interviewing for any posts.
Cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt shadows high school teachers in his hometown of Auburn, Alabama each offseason to study different learning styles. His passion comes from his own personal struggles with dyslexia and the teachers who inspired him to overcome his struggles.
Special teams coach Ron Zook
Zook took over as the head coach at the University of Florida, replacing legendary coach Steve Spurrier. After taking the job, he told his assistant coaches to take their cell phones to bed because, “You never know when I’m going to call.”
Assistant special teams coach Jason Simmons
Simmons was playing for the Houston Texans and wearing No. 30 when they signed former Packers running back Ahman Green. Simmons was approached by Green to see if he would part with his jersey number.
Simmons agreed, under the condition that Green cover a down payment on a home for an underprivileged family in Houston.