Packers Might Need to Replace Adam Stenavich

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has interviewed for the same post with the Seattle Seahawks, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

Letting Stenavich go wouldn’t be without precedent.

After the 2017 season, a young offensive coordinator by the name of Matt LaFleur interviewed to be head coach of the Tennessee Titans. LaFleur at the time was the non-play-calling offensive coordinator for Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

It’s a similar system in Green Bay, with LaFleur being the leader and play-caller of the offense.

So, McVay allowed LaFleur to make a somewhat-parallel move to become offensive coordinator of the Titans, a job he held for one season before becoming coach of the Packers in 2019.

This head coaching cycle, Stenavich had one interview – with the Chicago Bears – but that job went to Ben Johnson, who was the play-calling coordinator for the Detroit Lions.

While Johnson was considered the best candidate available, there’s little doubt Stenavich’s lack of play-calling background was a factor in how he was viewed by the Bears and the other teams who were looking for a coach.

Seattle would provide an opportunity to add to his resume. The Seahawks are coached by Mike Macdonald, a defense-focused coach who took over in Seattle a year ago. About three weeks ago, he fired his offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb.

Stenavich has been LaFleur’s offensive coordinator the past three seasons. His units ranked 17th in yards and 14th in points in Aaron Rodgers’ final season as quarterback in 2022, 11th in yards and 12th in points in Jordan Love’s first season as quarterback in 2023, and fifth in yards and eighth in points in 2024.

“It’s very collaborative,” LaFleur said in November, when Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr included Stenavich and Hafley in a story about future head coaches. “I’m always asking him. ‘Hey, what runs you like?’ What’s been so impressive about him is when he became our coordinator, the investment he made in the passing game and the amount of time he’s put in in learning the passing game, so I think he is fully capable.

“I would have no reservations or hesitation – he might as well be calling it on gameday. I feel that confident in him, in his ability. It’s a collective effort with all our guys. And so I think he’s more than deserving of that opportunity.”

The 41-year-old Stenavich is a native of Marshfield, Wis., who played college football at Michigan. After his college career was over, he got opportunities to play for the Carolina Panthers, Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans before returning to Michigan as a strength and conditioning intern (2011) and graduate assistant coach (2012 and 2013).

From there, he was offensive line coach at Northern Arizona in 2014 and San Jose State in 2015 and 2016 before becoming assistant offensive line coach for the 49ers in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Stenavich became part of LaFleur’s first staff in Green Bay as offensive line coach.

“It’s been really fun, actually,” Stenavich said in 2022 after replacing Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator after Hackett became coach of the Denver Broncos.

“My whole role as a coach building up to this has been based around the offensive line and the run game and the pass protections and things like that, so it’s been really cool to dive into the pass game in a more in-depth perspective and really dig into that. It’s fun to learn new stuff as a coach, just the way you can grow and get better is really a good opportunity. So, this has been really fun for me, just expanding my football knowledge.”

If Stenavich were to get the job in Seattle, one internal candidate to replace him as offensive coordinator would be receivers coach-turned-passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable.

It would be the logical next step in the 39-year-old’s career. He entered the NFL as a quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2013 through 2015. He was part of LaFleur’s initial staff in 2019 and was promoted to receivers coach in 2020, receivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2022 and outright passing game coordinator in 2024.

“I’m so impressed with his work ethic, how detailed and thorough he is,” LaFleur said in 2020. “He knows what we’re trying to get done, he knows why we’re trying to do everything. He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around.”

Vrable is the offensive coordinator for the National Team at this week’s Senior Bowl.