Packers finalize coaching staff
Courtesy: Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have promoted Jerry Gray to defensive backs/passing game coordinator, Adam Stenavich to offensive line/run game coordinator, Rayna Stewart to assistant special teams coach and Connor Lewis to special teams assistant/game management specialist while also hiring John Dunn as a senior analyst, Justin Hood as a defensive quality control coach, Ryan Mahaffey as an offensive quality control coach and Tim Zetts as an offensive quality control coach. Head Coach Matt LaFleur made the announcements on Monday.
Gray, who is entering his 25th season coaching in the NFL and second for the Packers, served as the defensive backs coach for Green Bay in 2020. He helped lead the Packers to a No. 9 ranking in total defense (334.0 ypg) and a No. 7 ranking in pass defense (221.2 ypg) last season, the first time Green Bay ranked in the top 10 in both categories since 2010.
Under Gray’s tutelage, third-year CB Jaire Alexander earned second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press, becoming the first Green Bay CB to earn All-Pro honors since Charles Woodson in 2011. Alexander was also named to his first career Pro Bowl in 2020, making him one of three CBs in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons (Herb Adderley, 1963, third season; Willie Buchanon, 1973, second season).
Gray joined the Packers after spending six years (2014-19) coaching defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings, where he tutored All-Pro CB Xavier Rhodes and S Harrison Smith. From 2014-19, Gray’s defensive backfield was part of a unit that ranked in the top five in the NFL in scoring defense (19.3 ppg, No. 2), overall defense (321.8 ypg, No. 3) and passing defense (214.7 ypg, No. 3). Gray has contributed to a top-10 scoring defense 10 times during his coaching career, including in 2019 when Minnesota was tied for No. 5 in the NFL (18.9 ppg).
He was a defensive coordinator twice in the NFL, first with the Buffalo Bills (2001-05) and then the Tennessee Titans (2011-13). Gray also coached defensive backs for the Seattle Seahawks (2010), the Washington Football Team (2006-09) and the Titans (1999-2000). After his playing career as a cornerback, in which he made four Pro Bowls (1986-89) and earned second-team AP All-Pro honors two times (1986 and 1989), he began coaching defensive backs at Southern Methodist University in 1995. After two seasons, he returned to the NFL as a defensive quality control coach for the Tennessee Oilers (1997-98).
Stenavich (STEN-uh-vitch) served as the offensive line coach for the Packers for the past two seasons. Last season, he coached a line that blocked for an offense that ranked No. 1 in the league in scoring (31.8 ppg), giveaways (team-record 11) and time of possession (32:29), tied for No. 2 in sacks allowed (21), No. 5 in total offense (389.0 ypg) and No. 3 in yards per play (6.29).
Green Bay allowed one sack/zero sacks in a league-high 13 games in 2020, tied for the most in a season in team history (2004). The line helped lead the way for RB Aaron Jones to set a single-season franchise mark for yards per carry (league-best 5.49) among players with 200-plus attempts, surpassing FB Jim Taylor’s mark of 5.42 yards per carry in 1962.
Stenavich came to the Packers after serving as the assistant offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017-18. Prior to joining the 49ers, Stenavich spent six years in the college ranks. He first worked as a strength and conditioning intern at the University of Michigan (2011), then a graduate assistant for the Wolverines (2012-13) and then coached the offensive lines at Northern Arizona University (2014) and San Jose State (2015-16).
The Marshfield, Wis., native played left tackle at Michigan (2002-05) and was named first-team All-Big Ten in 2004-05. Following his collegiate career, Stenavich signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted rookie free agent. He was signed to the Packers’ practice squad in 2006, played for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa in 2007, spent the 2008 training camp with the Dallas Cowboys and was on the Houston Texans’ practice squad for two seasons (2009-10).
(ruh-NAY) Stewart worked as the special teams quality control coach for Green Bay over the last two seasons. Prior to joining Green Bay in 2019, Stewart spent four seasons at Vanderbilt, first as director of player development (2015-17) and then as special teams quality control coach (2018).
Stewart was a defensive quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2009-11, a graduate assistant at Northwestern University from 2007-08 and a training-camp intern for the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. He also worked as an athletic director, coach and teacher at high schools in Tennessee and Illinois.
As a player, Stewart was a two-time All-American cornerback at Northern Arizona University and was selected in the fifth round (No. 143 overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played in 71 career games as a defensive back for the Oilers (1996-97), Miami Dolphins (1998) and Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2000).
Lewis worked as an offensive quality control coach for Green Bay last season, assisting offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett with a focus on the offensive line. He is entering his sixth season with the Packers, originally joining the team in 2016 as a football technology analyst intern before being promoted to football technology analyst in 2017. From 2016-19, he helped the offensive coaching staff in data analysis, playing rules and game management.
Prior to joining the Packers, Lewis was an independent consultant for the Oakland Raiders (2015) and worked in the football analytics and information department for the New York Giants (2014). He was a mathematics major with a corporate strategy minor at Vanderbilt University (2010-14), where he also worked in the football office (2012-14), assisting the director of player personnel, the director of recruiting and the coaching staff.
Dunn is entering his fifth season in the NFL and first with the Packers. He previously coached tight ends for the New York Jets (2019-20) and was a football assistant (2016) and offensive assistant with the Chicago Bears (2017), working with the wide receivers and quarterbacks as well as helping to install the offensive line protections.
Between those two stops in the NFL, Dunn was the offensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut in 2018. From 2011-15, he coached tight ends and was the recruiting coordinator at the University of Maryland and was an offensive graduate assistant (2008-09) and offensive intern (2010) at Lousiana State University.
Dunn was a walk-on quarterback and tight end at the University of North Carolina (2001-03) before a neck injury ended his playing career. He started his coaching career at his alma mater, working as a student assistant (2004), offensive quality control coach (2005) and offensive graduate assistant (2006-07) for the Tar Heels.
Hood comes to Green Bay after working as the secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator at Kent State in 2019-20. Hood joined Kent State after coaching for three years at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, working first at Davidson College (N.C.), where he was promoted from secondary/recruiting coordinator in 2016 to safeties/passing game coordinator in 2017, and then coached linebackers at Western Carolina University in 2018.
In 2014-15, Hood was the defensive coordinator/secondary coach for Capital University (Columbus, Ohio). He spent two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois (2012-13) working with the nickelbacks and cornerbacks. In the summer of 2013, he was a coaching intern on offense for the New York Giants.
A former cornerback at Ashland (Ohio) University, Hood began his post-playing career at the University of Oregon as an intern and quality control coach (2011-12), assisting with running backs and recruiting for a team that finished in The Associated Press top five both seasons.
Mahaffey (muh-haff-ee) comes to Green Bay after coaching in college since 2013. The former tight end/fullback at Northern Iowa (2007-10) spent the past two years at his alma mater as the offensive coordinator (2019-20). He also worked as the recruiting coordinator/tight ends (2013) and co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers (2016) at UNI.
Between those stints, Mahaffey was a graduate assistant/wide receivers at Notre Dame (2014-15) and the tight ends coach at Western Kentucky (2017-18). After his collegiate playing career, Mahaffey signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and appeared in five games that season for the Indianapolis Colts. In 2012, he spent some time with the Miami Dolphins.
Zetts joins the Packers after serving as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks for Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.) in 2019-20. He joined the Governors after working at Mississippi State in 2018 as the assistant wide receivers/offensive skill quality control coach.
Zetts spent one year coaching quarterbacks at Davidson (N.C.) College (2017) and two years at John Carroll University (2015-16) in Ohio as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks as well as the interim head coach in 2016. The previous three years (2012-14), he coached running backs and was the recruiting coordinator at Fordham (Bronx, N.Y.).
A former quarterback at Akron and Saginaw Valley State, Zetts returned to the Zips to begin his coaching career as a student assistant and went on to be an offensive quality control coach at California University of Pennsylvania (2010) and running backs coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011).
Offensive Coaching Staff
Nathaniel Hackett – Offensive Coordinator
Luke Getsy – Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator
Adam Stenavich – Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
Justin Outten – Tight Ends
Ben Sirmans – Running Backs
Jason Vrable – Wide Receivers
Luke Butkus – Assistant Offensive Line
Ryan Mahaffey – Offensive Quality Control
Tim Zetts – Offensive Quality Control
Ruvell Martin – Coaching Assistant (Minority Fellowship)
Defensive Coaching Staff
Joe Barry – Defensive Coordinator
Jerry Gray – Defensive Backs/Passing Game Coordinator
Jerry Montgomery – Defensive Line
Kirk Olivadotti – Inside Linebackers
Mike Smith – Outside Linebackers
Ryan Downard – Assistant Defensive Backs
John Dunn – Senior Analyst
Wendel Davis – Defensive Quality Control
Justin Hood – Defensive Quality Control
Special Teams Coaching Staff
Maurice Drayton – Special Teams Coordinator
Rayna Stewart – Assistant Special Teams
Connor Lewis – Special Teams Assistant/Game Management Specialist
Strength and Conditioning Staff
Chris Gizzi – Strength & Conditioning Coordinator
Thadeus Jackson – Strength & Conditioning Assistant
Mark Lovat – Strength & Conditioning Assistant
Grant Thorne – Strength & Conditioning Assistant