Packers' Hiring Tom Clements as QBs Coach Likely a Tactic to Entice Aaron Rodgers to Stay
The only time that Aaron Rodgers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in triumph, the Green Bay Packers' quarterbacks coach was Tom Clements. The Packers won it all with Clements coaching Rodgers and it would appear the team has designs on duplicating that history.
Over the weekend, Green Bay hired Clements to take over QBs coach duties, the same position he held in Title Town from 2006-11 before then-head coach Mike McCarthy promoted him to offensive coordinator. Clements served in that coordinator role for the next three seasons before being promoted to assistant head coach.
Clements left Green Bay in 2016 and went on to enjoy a trio of years out of the NFL before being hired by the Arizona Cardinals as passing game coordinator and QBs coach in 2019. Kyler Murray's rise to Pro Bowl levels conspicuously began when Clements arrived in the desert.
Many NFL insiders speculate that head coach Matt LaFleur hiring Clements out from under the Cardinals, at this moment in time, is a clear carrot to entice Rodgers to return to the Packers. On the heels of winning his fourth MVP award, and in back-to-back years, the future of Green Bay's enigmatic quarterback is up in the air.
The Packers are purportedly conjuring up a new contract offer for Rodgers that would pay him $45 million per year to close out his career. Such an extension has yet to be consummated, however.
With the Denver Broncos hiring Rodgers' offensive coordinator of the past three years — Nathaniel Hackett — speculation has run rampant that the veteran QB will follow him to the Mile High City. We've even heard reports that Hackett plans to 'push hard' to somehow, someway talk the Packers out of letting Rodgers go.
Part of that equation will be dictated by Rodgers himself and whether he truly wants to start over in a new NFL city, albeit with a familiar coach whom he "loves like a brother." Another part is the Packers, who'd have to sign off on any such trade.
It's rare that an NFL team lets a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback slip away at arguably the peak of his playing career but in recent years, older signal-callers (like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady) have found themselves at odds with their original teams for whatever reason, only to go elsewhere and win Super Bowls.
Does the Clements hire signal an all-but-assured return to the Green and Gold fold for Rodgers? Or has too much water passed beneath this bridge for such a concession to make an impact?
Time will tell. For now, Rodgers remains a Packer while he ultimately mulls over what happens next in his illustrious career. He could retire, or, simply return to Green Bay to polish off his NFL resume.
The upset would be Rodgers forcing a trade. If that happens, it's no guarantee the Broncos would be the destination due to the self-interest the Packers would surely have to glean as much possible capital and value out of the trade as is humanly possible.
In such scenarios, the team offering the biggest haul often emerges as the victor.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
