Last offseason JK Scott Jersey , when the Packers fired the maligned Dom Capers, Fangio was one of the candidates whom Green Bay most coveted. Once Mike McCarthy got his walking papers and the Bears defense dominated the Rams on national television, connecting the dots was easy. It’s just not the right move for the Packers. Of course, it hasn’t just been one game that makes Fangio an appealing option. He built a dominating 49ers defense during their mini-run with Jim Harbaugh, one that stymied Aaron Rodgers more than once. His work with sub-par talent early in his Chicago tenure deserves its own plaudits, but even with Khalil Mack, Fangio should be lauded for his work turning the Bears into a suffocating defense in an era where such things were thought to be impossible. Fangio is one of the NFL’s true mad scientists, happiest tinkering in the lab with ways to stop opposing offenses. He’s a little gruff, but not particularly outspoken and while he provides outstanding defensive coaching and scheme, there’s little evidence to suggest he’s the kind of alpha personality to come in and immediately demand the respect of a veteran football team set on winning a Super Bowl ASAMFP. Some have suggested the Packers need the new coach to inject accountability and discipline into the team, hold Aaron Rodgers to a higher standard and put his damn foot down. That’s not true. Mike McCarthy was an outstanding culture-setting coach and CEO of the Packers program. His voice simply ran its course. Fangio would likely represent a step back in terms of setting a Lombardi standard (as one former coach might put it). What the Packers need is a forward thinking coach with progressive ideologies about coaching, scheme, and personnel deployment. The calculation should be simple: the defense doesn’t have a coaching problem, it has a talent problem. The offense doesn’t have a talent problem, it has a coaching problem. So how does Fangio solve this exactly? If the answer to offensive stagnation is a hot young OC candidate, then just hire the offensive coach to begin with. More than likely the Zac Taylors of the world, even if successful, would be on their way to head coaching jobs in two years and then the team has to start over as Rodgers’ powers wain. What problem does Fangio solve that can’t be solved by Mike Pettine Brett Favre Color Rush Jersey , another year of continuity, and some improved talent? The 49ers had Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Aldon Smith and a deep group of role players. The Bears have Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson. That’s not underselling what Fangio has done, simply pointing out he’s been successful with more raw talent than the Packers currently have. A 60-year-old coordinator who hasn’t been an NFL head coach and doesn’t seem ideally suited from a personality standpoint to be one isn’t the answer to the Packers falling behind other top offenses with Aaron Rodgers. Fangio is closer to Social Security than a Super Bowl, making him a wonky fit on a team in need of an offensive overhaul. Pete Carroll is the oldest head coach in football and doesn’t suffer from a lack of foresight, but he was also a successful veteran coach with impossible reservoirs of energy when he got to Seattle. Replacing an old school coach with an old school coach to fix complacency in an old school way of doing business simply doesn’t follow. The culture isn’t broken in Green Bay, and even if it were, there’s little evidence to suggest Fangio could piece it back together. The whole defense, to a man, lauded Pettine for bringing accountability back in a post-Capers world. Is Fangio’s schematic advantage over Pettine so large that Mark Murphy and Gutekunst ought to eschew better offensive coaching options in the head spot? No way.Fangio’s defense should worry the Packers on Sunday when the team attempts to save its season and keep playoff hopes alive. But that’s not reason enough to hire him as the man to succeed Mike McCarthy. One thing is clear: the Packers saw Rashan Gary as a priority, not a consolation." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteAcme Packing Companya Green Bay Packers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsPackersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections The APC PodcastPackers Film RoomFantasy Football AdviceCDTShareTweetShareSharePackers’ GM Brian Gutekunst was ‘locked in’ on Rashan Gary for monthsPhoto by Rey Del Rio/Getty ImagesWhen the pick came in at 12, the reaction was largely a sigh and an eyeroll from Green Bay Packers fans. After missing out on defensive tackle Ed Oliver and tight end T.J. Hockenson by a few picks, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst let the 10-minute clock run down for quite a while before turning in a card with the name “Rashan Gary” on it.Gary, an edge rusher from Michigan, was hardly what most Packers fans were hoping for https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Paul-Hornung-Jersey , particularly with Brian Burns and Montez Sweat still on the board. Those two players had much more consistent production in terms of sacks and tackles for loss than Gary, who had just 9.5 and 23, respectively, in his collegiate career.However, Gutekunst and Packers college scout Joe Hueber made it clear that Gary was not a knee-jerk pick that came as a result of the board falling differently than they had hoped. Not only did the Packers rate Gary highly on their draft board — he was in fact one of their highest priorities. “Locked in” is the phrase that Gutekunst used when speaking to the media late Thursday evening, using that to describe him being focused on acquiring Gary since all the way back in February — presumably around the time of the 2019 NFL Combine.As for the production questions, Gutekunst clearly is not concerned. “Production is just the way you look at it,” he said. “He affected the passer, he affected the game. At times he wrecked it.” That’s a good sign for a player whose primary purpose will be to disrupt the quarterback, at least as a rookie, and the personnel department clearly feels that there are reasons why his impact on games did not appear in the stat sheet.College scout Jue Hueber may have said it best: “He commanded a lot of attention at Michigan: double-teams, triple-teams, taking on the tight end. Really, you saw it in some of his teammates, they got freed up and they were able to get the production.” The plays that Gary put on tape were far more important than the numbers he put in the box score to the team. “When you watch him, he was all over the place, taking on these blocks and getting a lot of pressure too.”As a 6-foot-4-plus, 275-pound player Bart Starr Jersey , Gary would seem a bit big to be a conventional 3-4 outside linebacker, but Hueber confirmed that’s the position group he will start with when he shows up for work. Still, expect to see him lined up in a number of different places. “He’s a guy because of his size and speed and versatility, that you’d hope you can move him around the front,” Hueber said. “He’s done some stand-up stuff already. He’s a guy who’s had to play multiple positions and move around. Probably needs to learn some of the drop stuff but I think as far as rushing the passer goes, he’ll be ready.”Perhaps the biggest question about Gary, though, is the health of his shoulder. A labrum injury affected him throughout the 2018 season, but Gutekunst does not expect that to be an issue. “I felt very comfortable long term that issue is going to be resolved,” he told reporters, adding that he does not expect Gary to need surgery. Any such surgery would cost the top pick significant, valuable time in OTAs or training camp, so this indicates that he will be good to go for a full workload leading up to his rookie year.Ultimately, both Hueber and Gutekunst made it clear that the team viewed Gary as one of the best players in this year’s draft. Hueber said he felt that Gary was a top ten talent, while Gutekunst said he felt “very fortunate that (Gary) fell to 12.” Although Packers fans may question whether Gary was the right player for the Packers to select on Thursday night. no such questions appear to be present in the team’s personnel decision-makers. And frankly, that’s the way fans should want it to be.