Matt LaFleur has made his first major hire since becoming the Green Bay Packers’ new head coach. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, LaFleur has tabbed former Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Nathaniel Hackett as his new offensive coordinator. Hackett spent the past five years in Jacksonville where he served in a number of roles. He called offensive plays for the Jaguars during their run to the AFC Championship Game last season. While LaFleur will call his own plays in Green Bay, Hackett will have a hand in designing the offense and game planning each week. Most of the coaches reportedly requested to interview for the offensive-coordinator position came from Kyle Shanahan Sean McVay’s staffs, two head coaches with which LaFleur has spent most of his career. Hackett has no formal ties to LaFleur prior to 2019, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the two will have trouble working together. Bringing in a top offensive assistant with a different perspective worked this past year for Chicago Bears, who brought in former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich to work under head coach Matt Nagy. From Acme Packing Company’s story on the OC search: At least one of the names under consideration for the Packers’ offensive-coordinator job fits the Helfrich model. Nathaniel Hackett has reportedly received interest from multiple NFC North teams, including Green Bay. Hackett served as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator and ran an offense that varied significantly from LaFleur’s. He also took the fall for the Jaguars’ offensive struggles this past season, receiving his walking papers from head coach Doug Marrone after a 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. But none of that should stop LaFleur from seriously considering Hackett for his staff. Less than a year has passed since Hackett, armed with only an undermanned receiving corps, a hobbled Leonard Fournette, and Blake Bortles, hung 38 points on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round and nearly toppled the New England Patriots a week later in the AFC Championship Game. Hackett has proven himself capable of squeezing more out his personnel than many of his contemporaries, and his offensive viewpoint could add new dimensions and features to LaFleur’s offense. With Hackett now in the fold, LaFleur can turn his attention to the rest of the staff. LaFleur has reportedly already interviewed candidates for the vacant wide-receivers coach. He will also have to determine a replacement for longtime O-line coach James Campen, who the Packers allowed to depart for a similar role with the Cleveland Browns.<doc-sep>“I knew Doug had thought about it,” Hackett said. “I guess the football gods had it out for me. We started off hot, had so many injuries, we were a completely different team. Guys busted their butts, but you can only do so much. I wish I could’ve figured something out.” Extra points The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported LaFleur will interview Miami’s Darren Rizzi for the special teams coordinator position that came open when the Packers fired veteran coach Ron Zook. Rizzi is being allowed to interview with other teams even though the Dolphins would like to keep him because Miami is set to hire New England Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores as head coach. The Dolphins can’t make that move official — and cannot officially hire assistants — until the Patriots are eliminated from the playoffs or after they win the Super Bowl. … Packers inside linebackers coach/defensive run-game coordinator Patrick Graham is considered the leading candidate to be the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator under Flores, according to a league source. Graham and Flores worked together with the Patriots before Graham joined the Packers’ staff under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine before last season. … ESPN.com reported two assistant coaches who were hired by McCarthy will remain with the Packers: defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio.<doc-sep>One coaching domino down, plenty of NFL ripples to digest. In a thin field of head-coaching candidates with only a few “tentpole” candidates carrying a wealth of head-coaching experience, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is set to become the Green Bay Packers’ choice. It is a move that surprised a multitude of league sources who have monitored the field, many of whom had pegged either New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or former Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase as the leading candidates to pair with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Not only were some head-coaching candidates surprised at LaFleur being offered the Packers job Monday, even the Titans were apparently caught off guard. One team source told Yahoo Sports the shared belief in the building was LaFleur would likely be returning as the team’s coordinator in 2019. Matt LaFleur, pictured with Titans QB Marcus Mariota, will reportedly become the Packers’ new head coach. (AP) Now that won’t happen, leaving the Titans to find quarterback Marcus Mariota’s fourth offensive coordinator in five years. That was just one revelation in the LaFleur hire. Among the others: 1. Josh McDaniels is staying in New England for 2019 Going back as far as late November, there were indications McDaniels would be interested in pursuing the Packers job if it opened. And when Mike McCarthy was fired, some other NFL assistants had already indicated to McDaniels’ camp they would be interested in joining him if he were to land in Green Bay. Now it looks like McDaniels’ only tangible head-coaching option has evaporated, much to the surprise of some close to him. And now? The Cleveland Browns have discussed McDaniels internally, but their only formal interview request from the Patriots staff was for defensive assistant Brian Flores. Partially because Flores is a far more unknown commodity inside the Browns organization, which previously courted McDaniels in a past coaching search. But also because there is concern over how McDaniels would fit with the Browns’ current structure, which includes shared power between chief strategist Paul DePodesta and general manager John Dorsey. Story continues The end result is McDaniels will remain in New England next season, where he is believed to be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL. “The book is closed,” McDaniels told reporters on Tuesday morning about interviewing for a head coaching position. “I’m completely focused on the Chargers [Patriots’ next playoff opponent] and our season, finishing strong, and I’ll be here moving forward.” 2. LaFleur could challenge Aaron Rodgers but not threaten power structure So what did Green Bay get in LaFleur? First, a take from inside the Titans. A team source described LaFleur as “smart, funny, charismatic and personable” and “someone who can definitely win an interview.” He’s also “an acquired taste for some who might think he’s a little arrogant or demanding, kind of like [San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan].” Also, LaFleur is said to be “not afraid to let personnel know when something is lacking on the offensive roster.” According to the source, LaFleur was also a guy who rallied the offensive roster after the Week 8 bye, running a balanced attack under less-than-ideal injury circumstances. All of that sounds like head-coach material, which the Titans believed he was, albeit with some thinking he would have another year or two of play-calling under his belt before this kind of job offer materialized. Another league source outside the Titans added that quarterback Kirk Cousins clicked with LaFleur a great deal when the two worked together with the Washington Redskins, with Cousins seeing LaFleur as a close extension of onetime Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Add that LaFleur also has earned admiration from Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, and he has no shortage of respected backers in the league. The flip-side of the hire: Resonating questions from an NFL crowd on why the Packers passed on more seasoned candidates for someone who has called plays for only one season. Can LaFleur handle Rodgers, who ran over McCarthy for much of 2018 and might be in need of both scheme innovation and someone who will check him when necessary? Why did Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn let LaFleur leave the team before the 2017 season, when he was the most sensible replacement for Shanahan? And following LaFleur’s 2017 offensive coordinator season with the Rams, why did McVay let LaFleur depart that franchise for Tennessee, rather than giving him some play-calling duties? None of these questions suggest something is wrong with LaFleur, mind you. It’s simply an illustration of why some question hiring a coach with limited play-calling exposure over multiple candidates with more experience in that realm (or with actual head-coaching experience). Part of the underlying suggestion is that while LaFleur represents risk, he is also a hire who carries the attraction of not being a threat to an existing power structure. He’s going to be in Green Bay to coach, whereas candidates like McDaniels or Gase would have certainly pressed on the personnel department as well. There is no ambiguity about whether LaFleur will have more influence than second-year general manager Brian Gutekunst. He won’t. There is also no ambiguity that Packers president Mark Murphy is firmly at the top of the franchise pyramid, with little worry of surrendering any juice whatsoever to a head coach. The Rams’ Sean McVay, left, talks with quarterback Jared Goff, right, as offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur stands between them during a practice in 2017. (AP) 3. Reaching for a McVay is firmly a trend in this NFL cycle We probably could have guessed this with Kliff Kingsbury getting NFL head-coaching interviews, but LaFleur underscores it to an even higher degree. The two chief selling points on his resume are: LaFleur having been a coordinator under McVay for a season in 2017; and having been the chosen quarterbacks coach for Shanahan in two different offensive coordinator stops. NFL teams are in love with young, aggressive coaches who offer a background in some wide-open or creative offenses. But they’re also thirsting to pull off what the Rams did in 2017, when Los Angeles rolled the dice on McVay at a time when it was believed he was still a year or two away from being prepared for a head-coaching job. That gamble paid off huge for the Rams, and now other NFL franchises are willing to attempt some replication. There’s no better place to start than with the young offensive coaches that McVay or Shanahan have relied upon on their staffs. And that’s a huge part of why LaFleur will be on the Packers’ sideline in 2019. Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts More CFP title game coverage from Yahoo Sports: • Woman who ran onto field is carried away at title game • Imagine Dragons gets roasted after halftime show • Alabama’s fake field goal fails spectacularly • Clemson trounces Alabama to win national championship<doc-sep>
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It took Matt LaFleur only a week to make two of his most important hires as the Packers' new head coach. The first one he made upon taking the job, when he retained defensive coordinator Mike Pettine from the previous Green Bay staff. The second one came Monday, when he wrapped up a deal with former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to hold the same position with the Packers. A source confirmed that Hackett and LaFleur had reached agreement, as NFL Network first reported. The only major coordinator position that remains open is special teams. LaFleur did not retain Ron Zook, who ran that unit under former head coach Mike McCarthy for the last four seasons. Multiple reports have tied the Packers to Dolphins special-teams coach Darren Rizzi, who is in limbo while Miami waits to introduce New England Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores as its new coach. Hackett has deep ties to the West Coast offense. He's the son of former University of Pittsburgh coach Paul Hackett, who gave McCarthy his start in coaching. The elder Hackett has ties to the early days of Bill Walsh's offense in San Francisco. LaFleur comes from the Mike Shanahan branch of the West Coast system. One source described the younger Hackett as "an outgoing personality who will complement LaFleur and work well with [quarterback Aaron] Rodgers." LaFleur said in his introductory press conference last Tuesday that he will call the offensive plays. McCarthy also called plays but relied heavily on his offensive coordinator to work closely with Rodgers. Hackett, like LaFleur, is 39 years old and has experience both in the NFL and college. Hackett is perhaps best known for getting the most out of the Jaguars' offense during their 2017 playoff run. They ranked fifth in the NFL in scoring with Blake Bortles at quarterback and had the NFL's top-ranked rushing offense on their way to the AFC Championship Game. But Hackett was fired in November by his longtime boss, head coach Doug Marrone (who also employed Hackett both with the Buffalo Bills and at Syracuse University), after the Jaguars' offense struggled to 21st in the NFL and 28th in points at the time of the move. Hackett was one of two offensive coordinator candidates LaFleur had eyed. The other was former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who interviewed for the Packers' head-coaching job. Monken was hired over the weekend as the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator. LaFleur was unable to get permission to interview his younger brother, Mike, or fellow 49ers assistant coach Mike McDaniel for the job. Mike LaFleur serves as head coach Kyle Shanahan's passing game coordinator, while McDaniel is in charge of San Francisco's run game. In addition to Pettine, LaFleur also will retain defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio from McCarthy's staff. It's unclear exactly what their titles will be. Zook isn't the only former Packers assistant who already is out. Receivers coach David Raih left for the same position with the Arizona Cardinals. The team also parted ways with defensive passing-game coordinator Joe Whitt. Longtime offensive line coach/run-game coordinator James Campen also was allowed to leave for the Browns, where he became associate head coach and will run the offensive line for new head coach Freddie Kitchens. No assistant coach in Packers history had more time with the team than Campen's 15 seasons, dating to 2004. Packers defensive run-game coordinator/linebackers coach Patrick Graham also might not return. A source said the Packers will allow him to join Flores' staff in Miami, potentially as the defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, former Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who served as the interim head coach for the final four games this past season, has interviewed with at least three teams -- the Bills, Browns and Minnesota Vikings -- according to multiple league sources.