Brady Quinn: New Packers coach Matt LaFleur to have ‘more of a partnership’ with Aaron Rodgers

Brady Quinn had expected the Green Bay Packers’ hiring of a new head coach to go one of two ways.

He could have seen them selecting a former head coach with a strong personality who, if he didn’t necessarily rein in Aaron Rodgers, would not be intimidated by the iconic quarterback. Then there was the way the Packers actually did go, by choosing Matt LaFleur, who Quinn also believes is a good fit with Rodgers.

‘It keeps the West Coast roots intact for Aaron Rodgers’

“A younger offensive mind who’s creative, who would be willing to work with Aaron and it will be more of a partnership,” Quinn told co-host Bruce Murray on the SiriusXM Blitz. “And that’s kind of how I see this working out. It keeps the West Coast roots intact for Aaron Rodgers. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of give-and-take with the offense and that type of terminology.”

“They all have kind of roots tracing back to some of the West Coast systems, too, so it kind of fits the mold of what we’ve seen from them.”

Quinn sees the hiring of LaFleur, who was the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2018, as being consistent with the profile of head coaches the Packers have chosen. LaFleur is 39, about four years younger than the age his predecessor, Mike McCarthy, was when he became Green Bay’s coach in 2006.

‘Much like Sean McVay does with the L.A. Rams with Wade Phillips, he’s got someone he can rely on’

“They all have kind of roots tracing back to some of the West Coast systems, too, so it kind of fits the mold of what we’ve seen from them in the past with some of their head-coaching hires,” Quinn said. “It sounds like Mike Pettine’s going to (continue to) be their defensive coordinator. I think Green Bay made strides defensively, too, so that’s a huge get. And you’re also getting a guy (in Pettine) who’s got former head-coaching experience that comes along with that. So he can be someone who you can kind of bounce things off of. He can kind of be there as a resource for you.

“And he could take care of the defense on his own. Much like Sean McVay does with the L.A. Rams with Wade Phillips, he’s got someone he can rely on. And I think that’s going to be huge for him, so he doesn’t have to have the burden of doing a ton and overseeing everything right now, at least this early in his career as a coach.”