The Green Bay Packers took another step in making sure Aaron Rodgers stays with the franchise for the 2022 season and beyond, bringing back longtime coach Tom Clements as the team’s quarterbacks coach, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Clements replaces Lute Getsy, who was hired by the Chicago Bears as their offensive coordinator.
Green Bay’s decision to bring back Clements is significant toward convincing Aaron Rodgers to stay with the franchise past this season. Rodgers has raved about Clements in the past, crediting him for his development into one of the game’s elite quarterbacks.
A long time quarterbacks coach in the NFL, Clements was hired to that role by the Packers in 2006 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2012 and later promoted to associate head coach in 2015. Clements left the Packers in 2016 and spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the quarterbacks coach with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring at 68.
Now, Clements is back with the Packers — a franchise that is trying to sway Rodgers into staying.
“I learned from Tom Clements, we always had three mortal sins [as] the quarterback: Don’t throw late down the middle, don’t make any blind throws and no premeditated decisions,” Rodgers said in January, via Demovsky. “I’m thankful, deeply thankful, to guys like Joe Philbin and Tom Clements and Alex Van Pelt, who’ve helped me understand that facet of leadership and being a quarterback.”
Under Clements, Rodgers threw for 297 touchdown passes to just 71 interceptions — the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the NFL — and his 104.4 passer rating was also the best in the league. The Packers won a Super Bowl under Rodgers with Clements as their quarterbacks coach, even more of an incentive to convince Rodgers to stay.
Rodgers still hasn’t made a decision whether he wants to return to Green Bay, but the Packers are making sure their all-time touchdown passes leader has everything he needs in case he decides to come back.
