Matt LaFleur faces important decisions with his coaching staff, but some are beyond his control.
Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins' head coach, but the departures might not end there. Hafley is assembling his coaching staff in Miami, which could mean offering jobs to some of his former Green Bay Packers colleagues.
Sean Mannion is a name to watch. He is a rising star in the coaching ranks, and it's only a matter of time before teams start circling with hopes of tempting him to leave Green Bay. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic predicts it will happen this offseason, with Hafley hiring him as his new offensive coordinator.
"He's going to be a head coach someday. There's a reason that he went from offensive assistant to QB coach," Schneidman said on The Tundra podcast. "My official guess is Sean Mannion leaves to become the OC in Miami."
Packers could lose Sean Mannion, and there isn't much Matt LaFleur can do to stop it
Schneidman admits he's guessing and certainly isn't reporting it as fact, but it's hard to disagree with his thinking.
As Mannion is the Packers' quarterbacks coach, LaFleur is powerless to prevent him from interviewing for offensive coordinator positions, as it would be a promotion.
Even if LaFleur could block it, he likely wouldn't, as he has always shown a willingness to let his staff members explore opportunities to call plays elsewhere. It's the same opportunity Sean McVay gave LaFleur by letting him leave the Los Angeles Rams to take the Tennessee Titans' OC job, where he could call plays.
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If Hafley (or any other team) wants to interview Mannion, there's little LaFleur can do. One option would be to promote him, but even that likely wouldn't be enough. Even if LaFleur made Mannion his offensive coordinator, he still wouldn't call plays, an opportunity another team could offer.
Mannion retired from his playing career only two years ago, so it's almost impossible that he's in contention for a play-calling job as an offensive coordinator. But it's a testament to how highly regarded he is.
"Screaming up the ranks and the praise of everybody in the NFL," former Packers fullback John Kuhn told Schneidman on the podcast. "Everybody loves his mind, the fact that he has a background, not just as a coach but as a player in the NFL and all the things that brings to the table."
LaFleur swooped in to hire Mannion shortly after he retired from playing, beating the Chicago Bears to make him an offensive assistant. Only a year later, LaFleur had seen enough to promote Mannion to replace the retiring Tom Clements as the Packers' quarterbacks coach.
His rapid rise is continuing. Mannion was named the offensive coordinator for the West team in the East-West Shrine Bowl this month. That shows just how impressive Mannion has been to earn that opportunity so early into his coaching career.
Many believe he has a head-coaching future in the NFL, and it's only a matter of time before a team takes a chance on him as their offensive coordinator.
Is it too early? Maybe. But teams are more willing than ever to take that gamble. It's the Sean McVay effect. McVay became an offensive coordinator at 28 years old and a head coach just before his 31st birthday.
Most candidates aren't the next Sean McVay, but that won't stop teams from taking swings.
Mannion might be the next star offensive mind in the NFL. He is rapidly climbing the coaching ranks in Green Bay, but it's possible another team, and maybe even Hafley's Dolphins, swoops in and steals him from the Packers.