The Packers hire Aaron Rodgers favorite Tom Clements to be the quarterbacks coach

GREEN BAY - First, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur addressed his team’s most glaring weakness, hiring a proven special teams coordinator to fix the unit that prevented a potential Super Bowl trip.

Now LaFleur is making another hire that might help lure quarterback Aaron Rodgers into returning for 2022.

The Packers were expected to reunite with former quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, a source confirmed Thursday. The news was first reported by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, and the Packers made the announcement official Friday.

After Rodgers spoke of being saddened by the loss of Luke Getsy as quarterbacks coach, Clements’ return as his position coach could help soften that blow.

Getsy was hired as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator, a position that will enable him to call plays under defensive-minded head coach Matt Eberflus, after last season.

Clements coached the Packers' quarterbacks from 2006-11, originally hired under former coach Mike McCarthy to shepherd Rodgers’ development. McCarthy promoted Clements to offensive coordinator in 2012, and he also served as assistant head coach in 2015 and 2016. His contract was not renewed after the 2016 season.

After three years away from coaching, Clements joined the Arizona Cardinals staff as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach under Kliff Kingsbury in 2019. He retired after the 2020 season and did not coach in 2021.

Rodgers has often spoken of his admiration for Clements. If the Packers are serious about the four-time MVP returning this fall, there might not be a better candidate to hire as their new quarterbacks coach.

Clements will join a remade coaching staff that includes recently hired special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. That move also could be recognized as a step toward remaining in contention next season, something that would help alleviate Rodgers’ concerns about playing for a rebuild. Bisaccia quickly brought longtime special teams assistant Byron Storer with him to the Packers. Storer was a college teammate of Rodgers' at the University of California.

LaFleur made clear after the season that not only he, but everyone else in the Packers’ decision-making matrix, wanted Rodgers to return in 2022. The team has since surrounded its quarterback with coaches that might make him feel more comfortable about its direction. 

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