Packers OC and three other assistants are mentioned on list of young coaches to watch in the NFL hiring cycle

The Green Bay Packers haven't been an extremely common place for assistant coaches to become head coaches elsewhere. Over the last two decades, the only exceptions are Joe Philbin, who took over the Miami Dolphins in 2012, and Nathaniel Hackett, who went to the Denver Broncos in 2022.

Both were offensive coordinators in Green Bay and, to different degrees, failed as head coaches in the NFL. But that might not preclude more Packers coaches from getting new opportunities.

On Wednesday, NFL Network's insider Tom Pelissero published a list of young names to watch in the 2025 NFL coaching hiring cycle, and Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich made it.

Check out what Pelissero says:

"An All-Big Ten offensive lineman at Michigan who bounced around for parts of five NFL seasons, Stenavich returned to pro football as the 49ers' assistant offensive line coach in 2017 and then the Packers as OL coach in 2019. He handles most of Green Bay's run game, which ranks among the NFL's best (149.9 yards per game). He works with not only the offensive line but the quarterbacks, too. From overseeing the offense during the week to helping from the coaches' booth on game day, Stenavich is an invaluable asset to Matt LaFleur, who told me recently of his OC: 'He's brilliant.'"

Adam Stenavich got his first NFL coaching job in 2017, as the San Francisco 49ers' assistant offensive line coach. He was hired by Matt LaFleur for his first staff in 2019 as the offensive line coach, and then had the run game coordinator title added in 2021. In 2022, with Hackett going to Denver and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy being hired to be the Chicago Bears OC, Stenavich was promoted to offensive coordinator.

More names

Stenavich was the only Packers assistant considered for this next hiring cycle specifically, but two other coaches were mentioned as options to keep an eye on in the future. All of them are defensive coaches, and two were hired this season.

They are passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley, 42; linebackers coach/running game coordinator Anthony Campanile, 42; and defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, 36.

Derrick Ansley had an experience as the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator, while Campanile had some DC interviews before taking the job in Green Bay;

Downard is younger, but he has shown so much promise that he survived multiple coaching changes within the Packers. He was first hired by Mike McCarthy in 2018 as a defensive quality control coach. In 2019, he was not only retained by Matt LaFleur alongside Mike Pettine, but also promoted to assistant defensive backs coach.

Downard was also retained when the Packers fired Pettine and hired Joe Barry, and was promoted to safeties coach in 2022 and to defensive backs coach in 2023. This season, he was kept once again despite a coordinator change, working now under Jeff Hafley.