Inbox: Adversity looms around every corner

Markus from Aurora, CO

Folks, as we slowly come out of the deep freeze across the country, our coaching staff starts taking on its 2026 shape. Things will still change, so stay tuned ... right, Mike and Wes?

It's in a constant state of flux at the moment, yeah.

Sean from Palatine, IL

Good morning Insiders! Following up on David from Gainesville's comment, I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of every NFL team's rosters but take a glance at both Seattle's and New England's IR lists. Truly a game of survival and these have been two of the healthiest rosters all season.

Adversity looms around every corner in this league, and fewer injuries means fewer turns to take and less to overcome.

Anthony from Middleton, WI

Vic used to say the Hall of Fame's job should be to keep guys out rather than let them in, but I can't imagine he'd agree with Bill Belichick not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If it's really because of Spygate and Deflategate, then I hope they hold Tom Brady to the same standard once he's eligible, but something tells me they won't.

The Hall of Fame has thoroughly embarrassed itself and now this joke of a vote will hang over Belichick's eventual induction, whenever it occurs. The overhaul of the voting process for the senior/coach/contributor nominees last year suggested it was highly flawed, and this year proved it definitively. Hopefully this head-sewn-to-the-carpet exposure leads to meaningful standardization of the various processes, and an end to the constant adjustments and recalibrations that have left everyone scratching their heads. Because if something good doesn't come from this that would be even worse. But the Hall has to get the egg off its face first. Goodness gracious.

Harry from Rochester, NY

New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, said and I quote, "I don't have a scheme"? Help me to understand what that statement meant.

It's not far off from players, not plays. His focus is on figuring out what his players do best, and then building a playbook that features their strengths, within the context of covering bases so the structure or principles of the defense remain fundamentally sound. I'm sure he's got some methods that form the foundation of a system, but he's not walking in with preconceived notions of a "two-gapping front" or "press man" or "Tampa-2" in mind.

Bob from Myrtle Beach, SC

I haven't heard this pro and con about the DC selection. Leonhard becomes another team's HC in two years. Every few years a new DC search. Gannon good DC, poor HC experience, will probably be here for the long haul. Do you think this affected the decision?

No.

Kyle from St. Charles, MO

Is there a reason the league doesn't set a starting point for coaching and coordinator discussions? I get that the best teams have to wait to look for new coaches, but the worst teams having to wait to talk to those teams' potentially desirable options seems counterintuitive. It feels like starting a draft where the "best" players aren't available until the back half of the first round.

Coaches on playoff teams are available for interviews at some point when their teams are still playing. It's just highly restricted to certain time frames. If you're asking relative to Jim Leonhard's availability, he was interviewed by Dallas during Denver's playoff bye week, and that would've been Green Bay's first chance to talk to him, except Hafley was still DC here at that time.

Matt from Fort Wayne, IN

After reading Austin from Appleton's response, I can't help but think back to the Vic days … your team's arrow is pointing down, pointing up, or staying straight. It feels the Packers' arrow has been staying straight and just can't get over the same continuous miscues from players and coaches. If you're consistently in the middle and continuing to do the same things over and over, how can one expect anything to change or be different in crunch time moments like in years past?

The Packers may have wound up in the same place the last two years, but those were very different teams. The '24 club was actually pretty good at crunch time, but the '25 squad was not. I agree the overall progress has been lacking, but not for the same reasons the way the last two years unfolded.

Tim from Elmhurst, IL

Mike commented that Sam Darnold's turnaround reminded him of Plunkett or Gannon. The other part of John from Stevens Point's question was what do you attribute the turnaround to? I think you saw it with Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones even Malik Willis…coaching matters. The Bears have been through a plethora of QBs over the last 30 years while the Packers have had three main starters. Were all those QBs bad NFL quarterbacks? Probably not but without the right coaching it's hard to develop these QBs.

Situation and environment absolutely remain key factors.

Troy from Westminster, CO

I don't really see the Packers bringing back most of their UFAs, including Romeo Doubs, Rasheed Walker, Quay Walker and Kingsley Enagbare. However, one I hope they do and expect is Sean Rhyan. He wasn't perfect but after sliding over from guard to replace Elgton Jenkins, I think with an offseason at the position, they very well have their starting center for the foreseeable future at what could be a fairly affordable price. Thoughts?

Yours are much like mine.

Jake from Appleton, WI

Will David Bakhtiari end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

I think he's got a decent case, but I suspect he'll be waiting quite a while for it to be heard.

Caleb from Knoxville, TN

Which new head coach intrigues you the most right now?

Definitely Jeff Hafley, in combination with Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM in Miami. In my time here, I've seen Packers coaches get other head jobs (Philbin, McAdoo, Hackett) and personnel execs get GM gigs elsewhere (Dorsey, McKenzie, Schneider, Wolf) but never a combo headed to the same place. The Dolphins will be fun to follow from afar.

Chase from Diamond Springs, CA

The McCarthy hire has helped me filter out more talking heads. They keep pointing to him having two HOF QBs, but conveniently forget he was the reason for Favre's resurgence, and we've all seen how organizations can fail QBs. I'm excited for him and glad it's an AFC team.

Favre threw 29 INTs the season before McCarthy's arrival, and within two years finished second in the MVP voting to Tom Brady. The development of Rodgers is well documented. Prescott had two of his three best seasons statistically under McCarthy. I'm very interested to see what happens at QB in Pittsburgh now.

Craig from Brookfield, WI

Rooting for the Rams last weekend made me realize how many parallels there are with the Packers: A talented good dude at QB who's easy to cheer on, Davante Adams coming through in the clutch, and abysmal special-teams play that costs the team its season. To fix this perpetual problem, do the Packers need to draft with more of a special-teams focus? Is it coaching? Is it bad juju?

I don't think you can just draft special-teamers, except maybe at returner, and the Packers can't get caught without an impact returner again. I think they were counting on Jayden Reed to handle punts, but then he went down and Matthew Golden didn't do well learning the role on the fly. Savion Williams showed promise on kickoffs but couldn't stay healthy, and again, Plan B was inadequate. It's easy to get stuck as a season unfolds, and that NFC title game showed the two polar opposites. The Rams got stuck and stayed there. The Seahawks made the bold move to trade fourth- and fifth-round picks for Shaheed. There's no crystal ball that guarantees anything, but in many respects, that determined the NFC champion. Seattle is going into the '26 draft with just four total picks but the sacrifice obviously paid off, no matter what happens in two weeks.

Cayden from West Bend, WI

Will the Green Bay Packers use Matthew Golden more in the 2026 season?

That would be my expectation.

David from Janesville, WI

Gents, many mentions regarding Gutey's propensity to take more shots in the draft in areas of need. He's gone heavy on WR and OL (multiple times), but that comes at a cost of shorting other areas. It feels like corner and defensive tackle have been the areas that weren't backfilled as much, and unsurprisingly are now areas of need. With less draft capital due to the Micah Parsons trade, can the Packers afford to take multiple swings at these positions now? Or do they need more focus on specific players?

We'll learn what happens in free agency, but I definitely can see stockpiling at corner to overhaul the position a bit. Not saying interior D-line isn't also a need, but there's more potential in the pipeline there with Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse just entering Year 2. Both positions need more significant draft investments than they've received recently, in terms of how high the picks are, but I'd say corner is the greater need when looking at overall numbers and depth.

Zach from Jacksonville, FL

Few things certain in life except death, taxes, and the Packers needing to draft a corner. What are your guys' thoughts on Kamal Hadden? He played significant snaps in one game last year, I thought he did well. Any potential he could push for a starting job next year?

I don't know about starting job, and I'm sure the Packers would like to keep him in the mix after the promise he showed, but he'll also be coming back from a major injury. No guarantees there.

Joe from Bozeman, MT

JG might have had a great D in Philly but a lot of credit goes to the players. He is not magically going to turn our CBs into shutdown corners or our non-Devonte Wyatt DTs into Aaron Donald. Andy Reid said it best when asked about the Holmgren coaching tree. He said that all MH's assistants including himself owed their head coaching jobs to one man, Brett Favre. The Packers D has a lot of holes to fill before they reach a championship level. Anyone who believes otherwise is delusional.

They need reinforcements at the two positions mentioned above, they need a better edge complement to Parsons, and they need their best players to stay healthy. That's a lot of needs, I'll grant you. But I'd also submit this defense isn't that far off, and if not for two spectacular, off-balance, fourth-down throws by Caleb Williams, the perception would be it's incredibly close.

Curt from Antioch, IL

It's been said that overall team improvement is dependent upon first-, second-, and third-year players making "a big jump." What, exactly, are those improvements? Do the coaches give these players "homework" (film study, exercises, etc.) to work on during the offseason, or is it just the players better understanding the requirements of pro-level success? I know the coaches are restricted in their contact with players, but what types of coaching goes on behind the scenes?

The coaching during offseason programs involves a lot of classroom work, as young players learn playbooks in greater detail with each review, plus strength/conditioning work, as they continue to develop their bodies. The opportunities to mentally and physically improve are abundant, and those that take advantage go from aspiring pros to established ones.

Luke from Dubuque, IA

First off, amazing article on Daniel Whelan. He's one of the unsung heroes of this team that does not get enough credit. I seem to remember back in the '90s and early '00s the NFL broadcasts used to have a clock during punts that showed "hangtime." When did this feature go away and why isn't it used anymore? I find it interesting and didn't realize Whelan's punts hovered over 5.0 seconds as consistently as he did. Go Pack Go!

I'm not sure when it went away or why. Maybe due to the increased focus on directional punting or "Aussie-style" kicks to pin teams deep. Just a guess.

Herbert from Palm Desert, CA

Good morning. Please let Kirsten from Madison know that L.A. is her best choice of road venues for next season. Green and gold will fill somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of a beautiful stadium, and the Ram fans expect it. You'll be in somebody else's house, so just be respectful while cheering for the Packers. Additionally, the weather will be wonderful no matter when the game is played, there are so many great sites to see, and I'm sure there will be a Packers Everywhere party the night before.

I can't guarantee the pep rally. That's not my call. But there will definitely be a strong contingent of GBP supporters in the stadium, as in Tampa, which I pointed out as well.

Gary from Davenport, IA

The number of postseason wins by each NFC North team over the past 20 years that Mike listed on Tuesday was quite impressive. That piqued my curiosity to see how lopsided the totals were when going back to the Favre era (1992). ATMR(WCBW), the totals are Packers 24, Vikings 8, Bears 5 and Lions 2. We have nothing to complain about.

Hence why nobody feels sorry for the Packers when things don't go their way. Everybody wants another Super Bowl. That's natural. But the Packers will get it when they earn it.

Tom from Fort Myers, FL

The NFL has done a good job trying to maintain competitive balance with the salary cap, scheduling and the draft. Major League Baseball on the other hand is broken. The capless spending by the Dodgers and several other teams has created an increasing competitive disadvantage for small-market teams. It is looking like the showdown between owners and players will happen next year. Unfortunately, no matter which side wins that showdown, the loser will be the fans.

The lockout coming after the '26 season could last a while. A long while. I feel like I'd better get my fill of games this spring and summer. Happy Wednesday.

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