CLOSE Packers' offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett discusses his working relationship with head coach Matt LaFleur
Olivia Reiner, PackersNews CONNECT11TWEET11LinkedIn11COMMENT11EMAIL11MORE11In this year's AFC Championship game, Andy Reid made a game-management blunder that didn't get a lot of notice but helped cost his Kansas City Chiefs a trip to the Super Bowl
Near the end of the first half and trailing 7-0, the Chiefs had pinned New England at its 10 with 3:08 left in the second quarter
The Patriots appeared more interested in burning clock than putting points on the board
Two runs got them a first down and the clock down to the two-minute warning. Two more runs left them with third-and-four, and the end of the first half in sight
But then Reid outsmarted himself and called timeout with 1:13 to play. His analytics might have said the percentage play was to stop the clock for a chance to get the ball back with enough time to score
But remember, Reid wasn't going against just anybody. He was going against Tom Brady
After the timeout Brady threw for the first down, went no-huddle the next snap, and with the help of two timeouts of his own was in the end zone a few plays later
Instead of leaving well enough alone and going to halftime down only a touchdown, Reid's Chiefs now were behind 14-0
They'd go on to lose in overtime, 37-31.Game management isn't everything in NFL coaching, but it can win or lose games, and it's growing more important, and complicated, every year as the amount of information available to coaches grows exponentially
The Green Bay Packers have a new coach, Matt LaFleur, who's never been a head coach at any level of football, so he's never had to make these kinds of decisions on the fly
Reid's error against the Patriots came in his 346th game as an NFL head coach, so experience isn't everything
But of the many things that will be new to LaFleur, among the most important will be those big decisions on whether to call timeout or go for a fourth down
And he'll have to make those calls in real time while also running the Packers' offense as play caller
SILVERSTEIN: LaFleur's staff lacks experience in crucial spotsRELATED: 'Three quarterback guys' to work with Aaron RodgersThat's asking a lot
So when LaFleur introduced his coaching staff this week, it was noteworthy that it didn't include a game-management coach, which is a position at least a few teams have added to their staffs recently
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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks to media on Feb. 18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis
Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenNathaniel Hackett, the Green Bay Packers' new offensive coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenShawn Mennenga, the Green Bay Packers' new special teams coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenJustin Outten, tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field, in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenLuke Getsy, quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenAlvis Whitted, Green Bay Packers wide receivers coach, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenNathaniel Hackett, the Green Bay Packers' new offensive coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenNathaniel Hackett, the Green Bay Packers' new offensive coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenShawn Mennenga, the Green Bay Packers' new special teams coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenShawn Mennenga, the Green Bay Packers' new special teams coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenShawn Mennenga, the Green Bay Packers' new special teams coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenMike Smith, Green Bay Packers outside linebackers coach, speaks with media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenLuke Butkus, Green Bay Packers assistant offensive line coach, speaks with media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenAdam Stenavich, offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenNathaniel Hackett, the Green Bay Packers' new offensive coordinator, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenBen Sirmans, running backs coach for the Green Bay Packers, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenJason Simmons, defensive backs coach for the Green Bay Packers, speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019, at Lambeau Field, in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisFullscreenGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur speaks to media on Feb
18, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-WisconsinFullscreen Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:Replay1 of 232 of 233 of 234 of 235 of 236 of 237 of 238 of 239 of 2310 of 2311 of 2312 of 2313 of 2314 of 2315 of 2316 of 2317 of 2318 of 2319 of 2320 of 2321 of 2322 of 2323 of 23AutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext SlideOne of LaFleur's previous bosses, the Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay, hired one last year
The Carolina Panthers added game management to one of their assistant's duties this offseason
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter had a game-management coach the last couple of seasons, and Atlanta's Dan Quinn hired a game coach about a week ago
In an interview this week, LaFleur said he didn't hire a game-management coach because he has retained former coach Mike McCarthy's football analytics staff to help with in-game decisions: Mike Halbach, the team's director of football technology, and analysts Ryan Feder, Connor Lewis and Jack Prominski
"When you make a mistake at the end of the half, end of the game, that's a big deal," LaFleur said
"Was it (Bill) Belichick who said more games are lost than won in this league? I know I'll have to lean on guys within our staff on that
"LaFleur picked up some experience in analyzing game management when he was Atlanta's quarterbacks coach in 2015 and '16
Quinn held a half-hour meeting with him and the special teams coach most days in the offseason to review game-management decisions around the league the previous year
LaFleur also plans to work game management into his practices, something he learned last year as offensive coordinator for Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson
They got it from their time working with Belichick and the Patriots.In every OTA practice, LaFleur is going to have GM Brian Gutekunst come up with a game-management scenario
Sometimes they'll discuss it beforehand, sometimes not."Being the play caller I want to think on my feet," LaFleur said
"Tell me you're going to throw one in — and we'll throw one in randomly, because that's what this game is about, it's about sudden change, it's about being able to react to any adversity
"… (In Tennessee) it was really beneficial, because there were a couple times where I was like, 'Ooof
' I'm trying to think real fast, I haven't thought about this, what am I going to do? Then you do whatever you can in that moment, then go back and reflect, OK, was it good or could I have done something different?"LaFleur said he won't conduct the daily half-hour game-management meetings in the offseason because of his other duties as a new head coach
He still plans on meeting regularly with Halbach and his staff about game management, perhaps once a week for an hour, to study scenarios that come up around the league
"You more or less watch the TV copy and say, what would I do here?" LaFleur said. "That's easy to say when you're sitting behind a desk
That's why you have to take that and put it to the practice field. Spontaneously insert that into a part of your practice
"LaFleur has his hands full as a first-time head coach. He's going to call plays, with all that entails in both game planning during the week and focus on game day
He's going to very much have a hands-on role coaching Aaron Rodgers in their first season together and said he expects to be at pretty much every quarterbacks meeting, which also will cut into his time
On top of that, he has to learn how to manage and use a plethora of analytics information, including on game day
With all the information available, it has become a big part of coaching in the league
He has an analytics staff to help make sense of the data, but he still has to make the call on how to use it, including on game day, when the decisions to use timeouts on defense or go for it on fourth down can be the difference between winning and losing
"Numbers are great but they don't tell the whole story," LaFleur said. "That's why I think you need (video) to go along with the story
You can't just blanket-statement stuff. … Going back to (an end-of-half) example, who's the quarterback? How's our defense playing? There are so many variables you have to take into account
Sometimes you have to trust your gut." Support PackersNews: BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Full access to articles, videos and columns LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: Get PackersNews in your feed FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: Check out Packers photos and videos GET OUR NEWSLETTER: Daily roundup delivered to your inbox CONNECT11TWEET11LinkedIn11COMMENT11EMAIL11MORE11
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