Acme Packing Company
Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator stuck on a staff that is looking for a new quarterback
When the Las Vegas Raiders announced Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff on Tuesday, an interesting name popped up on their website: Joe Philbin, Philbin, previously the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2011 and also in 2018, was originally hired to coach for previous Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who was let go after a 4-13 season in 2024.
Philbin initially joined Pierce’s staff as a senior offensive assistant before the team fired offensive line coach James Cregg in November. After that move, Philbin took over offensive line coaching duties through the end of the season.
Before becoming the Packers’ offensive coordinator, Philbin was the team’s assistant offensive line coach from 2003 to 2005 and offensive line coach in 2006. In 2020, Philbin resurfaced with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was named Mike McCarthy’s offensive line coach. This was the first job Philbin had taken since he became the Packers’ interim head coach, replacing McCarthy in 2018.
After three years in Dallas, Philbin was let go by McCarthy. Between then and his Raiders tenure, Philbin took a 2023 job as an offensive analyst with Ohio State, where he worked with offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, a former Miami Dolphins receiver who was with the club when Philbin was the team’s head coach.
A coach who has previous experience with quarterback Aaron Rodgers might prove to be valuable for the Raiders, who are looking to replace the combination of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell this offseason. Minshew is set to make $12.5 million in cash in 2025, with over $9 million of that being non-guaranteed. It’s highly likely that he’s released while O’Connell, who is on a cheap rookie deal, is either retained or traded to a team looking for a thrifty backup option.
The New York Jets reportedly told Rodgers this week, after Rodgers paid for his own flight to New Jersey, that they aren’t interested in him being their starting quarterback next season. This means that for the first time in his NFL career, he’s going to be a free-agent quarterback.
Philbin was Rodgers’ MVP for his first four years as a starter, including a Super Bowl win and his first MVP season. Will Rodgers flock to a former offensive coordinator of his, as he did with Nathaniel Hackett in New York? Only time will tell. Retaining Philbin feels significant in the Rodgers sweepstakes that is going to occur this offseason, though.
Personally, I couldn’t imagine a weirder matchup than Rodgers under center and Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who took a my-way-or-the-highway approach as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. If anyone can manage the egos there, though, it’s probably Carroll.
