Green Bay Packers: Dave Toub is perfect head coach replacement

The Green Bay Packers are searching for a new head coach. Here’s why Dave Toub is the perfect replacement for Mike McCarthy.

The Green Bay Packers have found themselves in an unfamiliar conundrum in 2018. At 5-7-1, almost nobody would have thought at the beginning of the season that the Packers would be without their head coach and on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

From an outsider’s perspective it’s hard to point to one specific issue as it pertains to Green Bay’s struggles. Some obvious talking points include questionable play calling, an inconsistent Aaron Rodgers, and a squad that looks completely unmotivated at times.

We could point the fingers any which way. But above all else, wrong or not, the brunt of the blame falls squarely on the head coach.

That’s why after a bewildering 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy took swift action and promptly relieved then-head coach Mike McCarthy of his duties almost immediately after the game.

As fans reacted to the news all over social media, possible coaching replacements began circling the news cycle and thus have created a dominant lion share of four or five candidates. Sure, Josh McDaniels, Jim Harbaugh, or Bruce Arians would all make exciting replacements.

But let me present to you an underrated, less buzz-worthy name: Dave Toub.

You might be wondering, “Who is Dave Toub?” And after googling his name and seeing that he’s a special teams coordinator, you might be thinking, “Why is this guy a legitimate candidate?” Hear me out.

For starters, Toub has been a hot name in coaching circles for the past couple years. As the special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs since 2012, Toub was recently promoted to assistant head coach this past offseason. He still handles special teams duties, as well.

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Toub recently spoke to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on the RapSheet and Friends podcast about his experience with the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid.

Of note, Toub expanded on his desire to be a head coach one day and what it means to be an assistant under Reid, saying, “It’s truly an honor that Andy recognizes me in that way. I feel like I’ve grown in that title [of assistant head coach]. …It’s going to help down the road.”

Reid relies on Toub for much more than just being a special teams coach. For instance, Toub has experience working with roster construction and is regularly apart of helping coach Reid manage the 46-man game-day roster for the coming week’s game. Toub has a hand in every aspect of the game because of this.

Aside from being an assistant head coach, Toub performs his role as a special teams coordinator extremely well. He credits Reid for allowing his assistants to execute their own role without micromanaging, and says it’s allowed him to grow as a coach.

Since Toub was hired in 2013, the Chiefs have regularly been one of the most disciplined and effective special teams units in the NFL. In fact, according to Football Outsiders, Kansas City currently has the No. 1 special teams unit in 2018 based on DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average).

Per Football Outsiders website, DVOA is “a method of evaluating teams, units, or players. It takes every single play during the NFL season and compares each one to a league-average baseline based on situation.”

Before Toub was hired in 2012, the Chiefs ranked 22nd in special teams DVOA. They jumped to No. 1 after Toub took over his role in 2013, and finished No. 3 in 2014, No. 9 in 2015, No. 1 in 2016, and No. 4 in 2017.

With the Packers’ struggles on special teams under current coordinator Ron Zook, Toub would be an excellent addition. Zook’s time in Green Bay is clearly up after a few disappointing years, and the Packers currently rank 24th in special teams DVOA and have been plagued by crucial penalties all season.

If you’re still not convinced that Toub has what it takes to be a head coach, take a look at his past credentials and the success of other special teams coordinators who eventually became head coaches.

Here’s Toub’s past coaching experience:

• Graduate assistant, University of Texas at El Paso (1986)
• Strength and conditioning coach, University of Texas at El Paso (1987–1988)
• Strength and conditioning coach, University of Missouri (1989–1997)
• Defensive line coach, University of Missouri (1998–2000)
• Special teams/quality control coach, Philadelphia Eagles (2001–2003)
• Special teams coordinator, Chicago Bears (2004–2012)
• Special teams coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs (2013–2017)
• Assistant head coach & special teams coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs (2018–present)

Some notable special teams coordinators who went on to be highly-successful Super Bowl-winning head coaches include current Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

Even the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick got his start as a special teams assistant. Belichick has even stated that special teams coaches are often overlooked even though they’re in the best position to become a head coach, mainly because they’re constantly evaluating almost every player on the roster.

If the Packers were to give Toub an interview, it wouldn’t be his first. He’s been interviewed several times in the past for head coaching gigs, and it’s probably only a matter of time before he finally gets hired as one.

Toub would be a great stalwart for the Packers as Aaron Rodgers enters the back nine of his career. Green Bay would then be able to bring in a young, innovative offensive coordinator who wouldn’t have to worry about the burden of being a head coach.

This has happened many times to Mike McCarthy. Rodgers has stated that he and McCarthy would often get caught up in prepping a game plan, and McCarthy would have little time to manage other aspects of the team.

Toub’s presence would serve as a way for other coaches to worry solely about their role, while the head coach would stand firmly in the middle as a liaison between players and staff. The only question would be whether players would buy into Toub’s philosophy and personality.

We’ve seen it work for other teams, so why not the Packers? Dave Toub is the perfect head coaching candidate for 2019.