The Green Bay Packers are reportedly hiring TC McCartney to serve as an offensive assistant. NFL insider Jordan Schultz was first on the news.
Many of you may have let out a "Who?" when getting alerted of McCartney joining Green Bay's staff, and that's okay. He isn't exactly a household name, to put it gently. However, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur ostensibly sees something in him that many of us have yet to.
McCartney has an interesting résumé, including a notable overlap with a branch of LaFleur's famous coaching tree: Kyle Shanahan. As we've seen across the league, that alone could be worth its weight in gold.
Matt LaFleur might've found hidden advantage with sneaky TC McCartney hire
As a former LSU quarterback and alum, McCartney got his first shot on the sidelines with them in 2011 as a graduate assistant. He earned an opportunity with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 — when Shanahan was calling plays — as an offensive quality control coach.
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From there, McCartney followed Shanahan to his current post with the San Francisco 49ers. They spent two seasons together in the Bay Area and four overall before the former was brought in to the Denver Broncos' quarterbacks coach in 2019.
Strong ties to the city of Denver ostensibly factored into McCartney heading to the Broncos and another feather in his cap. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and is the son and grandson of late University of Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese and Bill McCartney, respectively.
Bill is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Colorado's all-time leader in wins (93); he's a program legend. So, TC quite literally has coaching in his blood, regardless of Denver firing him after the 2020 campaign. Combine that with receiving an education from the School of Shanahan, and LaFleur suddenly has a potential secret weapon.
Roughly a month following his unceremonious exit from the Broncos, McCartney wound up back in Cleveland for a hot minute. He worked himself up from offensive assistant to tight ends coach by 2023 before getting hired as the New England Patriots' quarterbacks coach in 2024.
Alas, McCartney's time in Foxborough ended when the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo and pivoted to Mike Vrabel as their sideline general.