Acme Packing Company
Welcome to the first edition of Green Bay Packers offseason fan fiction, if that’s something you fancy. This is my first crack at predicting what will happen in Green Bay through the draft. I’m sure I’ll get plenty wrong here, but we don’t even know (for sure) who the head coach will be for the Packers in 2026, so let’s all just understand this is an educated dart throw.
I think Matt LaFleur comes back. I have no idea if he’s gonna get the kind of extension that he wants, or if he just coaches out the 2026 season and walks for a deal next year, but all of the reporting seems to be claiming that the Packers want him back, so I’m gonna assume he’s coming back until we’re told otherwise.
Without an extension, it’s going to be tough for him to fill positions on the coaching staff, but, hey, this is my fan fiction. So here, the offensive line coach and linebackers coach (both former internal promotions) get fired and are replaced.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley leaves for a head coaching opportunity. The Packers replace Hafley with one of defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington or passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley, both of whom have NFL defensive coordinator experience in the past. Hafley takes the other with him, wherever he goes.
In total, the Packers have two firings but need to make four hires on the coaching staff even with the internal promotion at defensive coordinator (if LaFleur does not get an extension, this will make it harder to get qualified candidates for this role. The team should just make a decision, one way or another, instead of having him on a one-year deal in 2026. It will impact more than just the head coaching role.)
I don’t expect the team to do much in free agency this year, in part because of the salary cap situation the Packers are in and in part because they will want to preserve the compensatory picks they would receive in 2027 for free agents leaving in 2026.
Unrestricted free agents
Below are players that I think will net the Packers picks after they sign with a new team in free agency:
Every NFL team is capped at receiving four compensatory draft picks per year (out of a league-wide total of 32 per draft), so no other free agents leaving would impact the calculus for Green Bay. Still, I think that tight end John FitzPatrick (following the emergence of Josh Whyle after his injury) and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (who would only suppress mid-round picks Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver even more on the depth chart going into Year 2 of their careers) leave in unrestricted free agency, too.
Let’s bring back center Sean Rhyan, who didn’t have a major...
