The Green Bay Packers have an offensive coach who could be described more as a quarterback whisperer. It is rare to have Hall Of Fame level quarterback play with back to back long term players, but it seems that any room he is a part of, a greater amount of success follows. While non-committal on how far he is from a possible retirement, or if it is even on his mind, Green Bay Packers fans should be hoping that he chooses to stay a while.
Green Bay Packers Earlier Coaching Years
Being a Heisman finalist himself at Notre Dame, with a championship wining Canadian football career as a player, Tom Clements is a desired, knowledgable person to have in your building to teach the quarterback position.
Brought in 2006 to the Green Bay Packers organization, having most recently coached with the Bills, Clements was tasked with helping a veteran Brett Favre. The year before his arrival, Favre had thrown for 3,881 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. After a year of Clements working with Favre, he managed to throw for nearly an identical amount of yards, throwing for 3,885. while posting a much better ratio of 18 touchdowns to 18 interceptions.
The next year, in 2007, Favre saw significant improvement in his play. He threw for 4,155 yards, 28 touchdowns, and an improved 15 interceptions. What is it that makes Tom Clements able to reach players a certain way that leads to them playing better? So much so that Aaron Rodgers specifically requested for Clements to come back to the Green Bay Packers after a brief departure.
Green Bay Packers Down To Earth Style
The answer is twofold. Clements connects with his players as a former high caliber athlete, his focus is then not so much then on the Xs and Os, but just having a straight forward, fundamental focused approach to preparation.
For someone like Favre, who is known for not always wanting to study in the film room, and for going off script, he would later buy in more into the preparation aspect of the position.
For Aaron Rodgers in his relationship with Clements, it was always about more than putting up good numbers, or impressing crowds. Their focus was about constant improvement in the fundamentals, and working on footwork to better put the team in a position to succeed. This process is what allowed Aaron Rodgers to go on to become a Super Bowl winner and MVP in just his third year of starting.
As Rodgers would continue to build on his career accolades with the help of his QB coach, after the 2016 regular season Clements elected to move on from the Green Bay Packers organization. He spent some time with the Cardinals later on, giving Kyler Murray his attention, and helping him look as good as he has in the NFL. He then decided to hang it up for a brief retirement after the Covid rules forced him to spend too much time away from his family.
Green Bay Packers With Jordan Love
When asked about what brought him back to the Green Bay Packers, he replied:
Delta
Coming back primarily to work again with Rodgers in 2022, some speculated that he would follow him to New York, or that he would not want to continue anymore. However, it seems that working with a player like Jordan Love, is exactly what he is meant to be doing with his life.
Not one to rush stages in development, or put other unnecessary pressure on his quarterback, Clements is a coach who really benefits from the extended time to work with players during the season, especially with the increased regulation of practice rules.
Try and true, earlier in the year Clements explained the stage of development that Love was at:
As he plays more, he’s going to recognize things that he’s seen previously in games and if he reacted correctly, that’ll trigger in his mind. If previously he didn’t react the way he would’ve liked to, that triggers in your mind too. And then as you see more defenses and what they’re trying to do you’re going to recognize it and hopefully adjust a little quicker because you’ve seen it before.
These are the words of someone who is not only patient, but also meticulously finding the little areas of improvement. this is a coach who is going to help his player evolve through the growing pains. His temperament and approach are part of the explanation as to why we have seen steady improvement from Love throughout the season.
While he is a for sure lock to hold off on a second retirement of sipping beer and wine until at least this upcoming Giants game, this staff would enjoy keeping Clements around for as long as he wants to continue coaching. Back with the Green Bay Packers, guiding the new signal caller in his first year as a starter, Clements is enjoying the process, just like he always has.
