Packers' Maurice Drayton out as special teams coordinator after playoff flop

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/1/22

The Green Bay Packers entered the postseason tournament as the NFC's top overall seed with quarterback Aaron Rodgers sitting comfortably as a betting favorite to earn Most Valuable Player honors. Green Bay didn't surrender a single offensive touchdown during the home playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers but nevertheless fell 13-10 largely because of special-teams miscues.

According to Tom Silverstein of Packers News and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur is making a change and parting ways with special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton.

Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers became the first team in 33 years to have both a field goal and punt blocked in the same playoff contest. The blocked field goal prevented the hosts from putting additional points on the scoreboard before halftime while they held a 7-0 lead, and the blocked punt resulted in the 49ers returning the ball to the end zone for their only touchdown of the encounter. That score tied the game 10-10 with under five minutes remaining.

Perhaps worst of all, the Packers had only 10 men on the field when San Francisco's Robbie Gould converted his game-winning field goal as time expired:

"That can't happen. It's unacceptable," a frustrated LaFleur said of that mistake shortly after the loss, as Nick Shook noted for the league's website. "And, again, that's on me."

LaFleur added at that time the blocked kicks "played a big part in us coming up short" and that he'd "go back and take a look at the tape."

Obviously, he wasn't pleased with what he saw.

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