The Green Bay Packers have named Jerry Fontenot tight ends coach, Ben McAdoo quarterbacks coach and Alex Van Pelt running backs coach. The team also announced that John Rushing will now serve as offensive assistant/special teams and Joel Hilgenberg will now serve as assistant offensive line coach. Head Coach Mike McCarthy made the announcement Monday.
Fontenot will be entering his seventh season on Green Bay's coaching staff in 2012, having tutored the team's running backs this past season. He served as assistant offensive line coach from 2007-10 and as offensive assistant in 2006. In 2011, Fontenot tutored second-year RB James Starks (578 yards) and veteran RB Ryan Grant (559) as they became the first Packers tandem to each rush for 550-plus yards in a season since Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens did so in 1996. Also under Fontenot's direction in 2011, John Kuhn became the first Green Bay fullback to be selected to the Pro Bowl since William Henderson in 2004. Fontenot played center in the NFL for 16 seasons with three different teams (Chicago, 1989-96; New Orleans, 1997-2003; Cincinnati, 2004).
McAdoo has been with the club since 2006, serving as the tight ends coach each of the past six seasons. He was instrumental in the development of TE Jermichael Finley, who matched his career high with 55 receptions (also 2009) for a career-best 767 yards and a career-high eight TDs in 2011. Finley's reception total this past season was tied for No. 2 in franchise history and his yardage number also ranked No. 2 in team single-season annals. In 2009, Green Bay's tight ends posted a collective 99 receptions for 1,048 yards under McAdoo's direction, franchise records in both categories. Prior to coming to Green Bay, McAdoo served as assistant offensive line/quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 and offensive assistant/quality control for the New Orleans Saints in 2004. He also coached at the collegiate level at Akron, Pittsburgh, Fairfield and Michigan State.
Van Pelt (pictured) will be entering his seventh season as an NFL coach, having served as the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two seasons. In his first season in Tampa Bay in 2010, Van Pelt tutored second-year QB Josh Freeman, who finished sixth in the NFL in passer rating (95.9) while throwing for 3,451 yards, 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Van Pelt spent the previous four seasons (2006-09) with the Buffalo Bills, serving as offensive coordinator in '09, quarterbacks coach in '08 and offensive quality control coach from 2006-07. He spent the winter of 2006 as the quarterbacks coach/pass coordinator for the University at Buffalo. Van Pelt also volunteered with the Bills in 2005 as an offensive quality control coach after spending the 2005 NFL Europe season as the quarterbacks coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy. He played nine seasons (1995-2003) at quarterback for the Bills and was a four-year starter at the University of Pittsburgh, where he holds school career records for passing yards and completions. Additional coverage - Feb. 13
