Packers rising pieces must navigate unusually unstable situation to protect their development and avoid a costly setback
Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper will go to Year 3 in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers have been one of most stable franchises in football. Few general managers, few head coaches, no eccentric owner. If there is one position where the franchise has had more volatility over the past couple of years, it’s linebackers coach.
Rising pieces Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper were drafted in 2024, so they will enter Year 3 in the NFL. Each year had a different position coach at the helm. It will happen again in 2026, with Sean Duggan leaving to become the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator under Jeff Hafley.
Change after change
Back in 2024, the Packers’ plan was to build a strong defensive staff behind Jeff Hafley, including experience and potential. Part of it was hiring Anthony Campanile, who had had DC looks right before that, as linebackers coach and run game coordinator.
Campanile did a great job, helping Edgerrin Cooper pick up the system throughout his rookie season and being a significant element to develop former first-round pick Quay Walker.
After only one year, though, Campanile got his DC opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars — and he was excellent from the get go.
Last offseason, Matt LaFleur and Jeff Hafley decided to promote Sean Duggan. A former linebackers coach under Hafley at Boston College, Duggan went to Green Bay initially as a defensive assistant. It wasn’t the same progress, and Cooper didn’t have exactly a breakout season in Year 2, despite keeping a very high level, but Hafley respects and values Duggan enough to take him to Miami.
Now, the Packers will have to find another linebackers coach to work under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon — the most natural and obvious option is Nick Rallis, who was the Philadelphia Eagles linebackers coach and Cardinals DC under Gannon.
Especially for Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper, who are still in the early stages of their NFL careers, this volatility with their position coach isn’t ideal, which makes the next hire that much more important for the Packers than a usual LB coach decision.
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