Special Teams Coordinator Mike Stock
Until they improve a unit that ranked 32nd in the league in kickoff return average, special teams coordinator Mike Stock does not want the unit known as "special teams."
"It's going to be the 'kicking game,'" Stock said. "We'll see if we can earn something more."
The 66-year-old Stock has coached college and professional football for 41 years, including his most recent stints as special teams coach for the St. Louis Rams (2004) and Washington Redskins (2001-2003). He also ran the special teams of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1995 to 2000. But Stock did not coach last year, undergoing a right hip replacement and the ensuing rehabilitation instead.
"The year out of football was based on necessity," Stock said.
Stock has some familiarity with punter B.J. Sander. While with the Redskins, he worked out the punter at Ohio State, and he said the second-year player had a great workout. Stock, however, hopes to improve the performance of the 2003 Ray Guy Award winner.
"There's been a sequence of inconsistency," Stock said. "It's just a matter of him settling down and being able to kick to the best of his ability."
The new coach also wants to better the unit's placement by synchronizing the snap, hold and kick. And he will look for a holder that can catch and place even the most errant snap.
"He's got to have the best hands of the best wide receiver on the team," Stock said.
Stock wants his returners to square up and quickly burst through the seam. He will not tolerate any hesitancy. And he approaches his job with similar eagerness.
"I'm as spry as anyone could be half my age," Stock said. "I've got two new hips and I'm fired up and ready to go."
Linebackers Coach Winston Moss
Moss expects his linebackers to show some of the same attributes he exuded during his 11-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.
"I want linebackers to have a lot of energy and show a lot of emotion," Moss said. "I want them to play with passion and enjoy playing this game."
He demonstrated some of those same qualities while serving as New Orleans linebackers coach from 2001 to 2005. McCarthy served as offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004 and the two intensely competed against each other on the practice field. Moss now joins him in Green Bay.
"I'm glad to be here," Moss said. "I'm excited."
Unlike 2005 defensive coordinator Jim Bates, who emphasized small, speedy linebackers, Moss does not prefer one type of player on that unit. The yet-to-be-hired defensive coordinator's scheme will help determine the type of linebackers he uses.
"It really depends," he said. "That can be a question that's probably premature right now."
Moss, however, gave a general indication of the archetype he seeks. He wants his linebackers to be active, fast playmakers. He deemed Nick Barnett, who set the Packers single-season record with 194 tackles in 2005, as the most representative of those qualities. The new coach wants to add more players in that mold through the draft, free agency or trades.
"That's something I hope they will address," Moss said.
Strength and Conditioning Coach Rock Gullickson
Gullickson owns the perfect first name for a coach expected to shape his players into blocks of granite. But he describes his style as detail-oriented and involved rather than rigid.
"I'm very organized," Gullickson said. "I'm a real hands-on guy."
He plans to implement a free weights-based routine for the younger players but take a more a flexible approach with the older ones.
"They've been around long enough to know what they need to do," he said. "At that point the light usually has gone on. They understand the healthier they are and the stronger they are, the longer they can stay in the league."
In the interim he will lean on the strength and training staff who have built a relationship with the players and know their need areas and injury history. Gullickson said Mark Lovat will become particularly helpful. (McCarthy retained the assistant for strength and conditioning of seven years on Thursday.)
Gullickson plans to start the players' conditioning program in March -- as early as the NFL allows -- and continue the program through late June before breaking prior to training camp.
With 28 years of coaching experience on the college and professional level, Gullickson has the necessary credentials. He served as the Saints strength and conditioning coach for the last six years.
All-Rookie
Nick Collins earned Pro Football Weekly/Professional Football Writers of America All-Rookie honors at safety along with the New York Jets' Kerry Rhodes. The second round draft pick racked up 96 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and nine passes defensed while starting all 16 games in 2005.
