Packers deliver an unexpected twist by adding a surprising voice to the offensive staff that could unlock an explosive weapon
Noah Pauley is the Packers’ new wide receivers coach.
The Green Bay Packers will have a new wide receivers coach in 2026. On Thursday, the team hired Penn State’s Noah Pauley to coach the receiving room, replacing Ryan Mahaffey, who had been the Packers’ wide receivers coach for the past two years and is going to the Philadelphia Eagles as a tight ends coach and run game coordinator. CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz broke the news.
Rising offensive assistant
Noah Pauley spent the past three seasons as the wide receivers coach at Iowa State — in 2024, he was named the WRs coach of the year by FootballScoop.com. In the last two years, he was also a passing game coordinator.
He started his coaching career in 2011 as a student assistant at Minnesota-Duluth, later being promoted to graduate assistant, then offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He also spent four seasons at North Dakota State, where he coached Christian Watson.
Pauley initially followed Matt Campbell to Penn State and was set to be the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, but he left that opportunity on the table to jump to the NFL level and work under Matt LaFleur. A rising coach, he interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator job in 2025.
Packers staff
When Matt LaFleur took over in 2019, he hired Alvis Whitted as his WRs coach, but Whitted left the staff after only one season.
Jason Vrable got promoted for the position and spent four seasons there — in 2022 and 2023, he was also the passing game coordinator. In 2024, Vrable became exclusively the PGC, and LaFleur promoted former assistant offensive line coach Ryan Mahaffey.
Now, the Packers go with a more experienced coach at the wide receiver position — even though this will be his first opportunity in the NFL.
This is the first addition of the offseason to the Packers’ offensive coaching staff. LaFleur is also looking for a new quarterbacks coach since Sean Mannion left the organization to become the Philadelphia Eagles’ play-calling offensive coordinator.