Thursday Cheese Curds: Packers’ DC job is a tempting opportunity with high expectations

Green Bay clearly has its sights on a Super Bowl in 2024. Anyone wanting to get their open coordinator job should relish those standards.

Matt LaFleur made one thing plainly clear in his season-ending press conference on Monday: the expectations for the Green Bay Packers are sky-high in 2024.

By practically any measure, the young Packers overachieved this season. Jordan Love proved himself to be a franchise quarterback. The team’s young receiving corps and offensive line developed faster than expected. And even a handful of young defensive players showed flashes of surprising ability — just think back to the likes of Karl Brooks (6th round pick) and Carrington Valentine (7th round) as examples.

So with a playoff win already under their belt, this young Packers squad will go into this offseason with a singular goal: winning a Super Bowl. Having that kind of potential and those expectations should make the newly-available defensive coordinator job opening one of the most intriguing, appealing, and exciting opportunities across the NFL this offseason.

As such, Green Bay should have no shortage of great candidates for the role. Veteran coordinators like Wink Martindale and Jim Leonhard should be options; so will ascending young coaches such as Chris Harris and others. LaFleur should have candidates champing at the bit to get in and interview because of where this team is at and where it looks to be heading.

It should be a big few days for this team as LaFleur decides what direction he wants his defense to take. Let’s enjoy the excitement of this particular unknown for a bit while it lasts.

Packers’ sky-high potential provides desirable landing spot for any DC | Packers Wire
Green Bay’s stability and long-term potential should make the DC opening one of the most exciting opportunities in the NFL this offseason for prospective coaches.

NFL exec predictions: Destinations for Russ, Baker and Kirk – ESPN ($)
To wit, there are expectations outside the Packers organization that this will be a Super Bowl-caliber team in 2024. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

15 Candidates for Packers to Replace Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry – Sports Illustrated
We have looked at a host of possible names already for the vacancy, but here’s a big list with some additional potential candidates.

Packers sign K Jack Podlesny | Packers.com
Meanwhile, in the immediate aftermath of the Barry firing, the Packers quietly brought in some competition for Anders Carlson — though Podlesny barely hit more than 50% from 40 yards or longer in his college career.

Chargers hire Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach | NFL.com
The big league-wide news after Barry got the axe was Harbaugh coming back to the NFL, and he will coach Justin Herbert and the Chargers moving forward.

Amish horse and buggy stolen from Walmart parking lot while family shopped – ABC News
No word on whether the alleged suspect also stole carrots from the Wal-mart to convince the horse to aid in the getaway.