While the Green Bay Packers had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL from 2022 to 2024 under Luke Butkus, who was promoted into the main O-line coach role after Adam Stenavich took over as offensive coordinator ahead of the '22 campaign, there was undoubtedly a significant dropoff this past year.
Butkus certainly doesn't deserve all of the blame, as Green Bay was forced to fight through a number of injuries in the trenches, but this particular unit seemed to lack a certain amount of toughness, which led to many Cheeseheads calling for a change this offseason.
Even former players got in on the action, as T.J. Lang, who spent eight seasons in Green Bay from 2009 to 2016, recently called for Matt LaFleur to replace Butkus by bringing back James Campen, who himself played center for the Packers from 1989 to 1993 and served as the team's assistant offensive line coach from 2004 to 2006 and the lead O-line coach under Mike McCarthy from 2007 to 2017.
Packers miss an opportunity as James Campen reunites with Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh
And during that stretch, the Packers consistently had one of the best lines in the league, as Campen helped develop the likes of Marco Rivera, Mike Wahle, Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Scott Wells, Jeff Saturday, Josh Sitton, David Bakhtiari, and Lang, thus giving Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers the protection they needed in the passing game and opening up running lanes for the likes of Ahman Green, Ryan Grant, and Eddie Lacy, among others.
After stints with the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and Carolina Panthers, Campen returned to Green Bay for the 2024 season as a scouting consultant under GM Brian Gutekunst. So, the organization clearly still has plenty of respect for the 61-year-old, which is why Lang and so many others were hoping for yet another reunion.
But that opportunity no longer exists, as McCarthy, who was recently named the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, wasted little time in setting up a reunion of his own, officially hiring Campen on Thursday to be his offensive line coach.
The Packers will undoubtedly run it back with Butkus, which certainly isn't the worst thing in the world. As mentioned, Green Bay had one of the top offensive lines in the league in his first three seasons, ranking second in the NFL over that span in sacks allowed (84), including just 22 in 2024 (No. 2 in NFL), and No. 4 in sack percentage (4.9).
Even in 2025, the Packers only allowed 29 sacks, good for the eighth-fewest in the league. However, they gave up 173 pressure (kudos to Jordan Love and Malik Willis for getting out of some tricky spots), and their 83.2 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating ranked only 26th. So, there's certainly some work to be done.
But Butkus could have some new blood to work with, what with Elgton Jenkins likely to be cut and Sean Rhyan and Rasheed Walker set to hit free agency. So, we'll just have to wait and see how things play out.