Do the Packers have a future Shane Steichen on their coaching staff?

Shane Steichen has an impressively diverse résumé for a 37-year-old head coach. Could a Packers assistant eventually follow in his footsteps?

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers entering its second month and his trip into the darkness still ahead, the Green Bay Packers received some good news this week. The Indianapolis Colts finally concluded their prolonged search for their next head coach, ultimately settling on Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen over Green Bay special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. The decision means the Packers' upward trajectory in the third phase should continue into 2023.

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We got our guy.

Still, the move signals an interesting development in coaching circles. While Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan assistants have dominated the past half-decade of hiring cycles, Steichen doesn't have a signal point of origin as a coach.

After breaking into the profession with the Louisville Cardinals in 2010, Steichen landed a low-level defensive assistant role with the San Diego Chargers. He then flipped to the other side of the ball a few years later with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Rob Chudzinski. Steichen then returned to San Diego while remaining on offense, moving up through the ranks despite multiple changes in the big chair. By the time he became the Chargers' interim offensive coordinator in 2019, the team had relocated to Los Angeles and he had served under a total of four total headmen. Steichen would add a fifth with Nick Sirianni in Philly.

So while Steichen might appear similar to many of the recently minted head coaches -- he doesn't turn 40 until 2025, continuing the trend of young coaches landing the biggest jobs -- few at his age have such a varied set of coaching influences. That extensive knowledge base helped separate Steichen from other candidates and land him his first head-coaching job.

All of which raises the question: Do the Packers have an assistant coach who could become the next Steichen? A few members of Matt LaFleur's staff could eventually follow in those tracks.

Jason Vrable

Barely older than Steichen, Jason Vrable has a remarkably similar résumé. Within a few years of breaking into the coaching ranks, Vrable caught on with Doug Marrone's Syracuse Orange. Vrabel worked with wide receivers and quarterbacks over a two-year stint at Syracuse before jumping to an OC gig with Division II's Charleston Golden Eagles.

Vrable arrived in the NFL in 2013 with the Buffalo Bills. There, he served under head coaches Rex Ryan and Anthony Lynn, mostly coaching running backs and signal-callers. Vrable moved on to the New York Jets in 2017 and finally landed in Green Bay two years later as part of LaFleur's initial staff.

From there, Vrable quickly climbed the ladder. He became the primary wide-receivers coach in 2020 and added the title of passing-game coordinator this past season. His work with rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs earned praise from LaFleur, positioning Vrable for a larger role in the future.

Outlook: Vrable hasn't served as a quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator at the NFL level, and he'll almost certainly have to do so if he hopes to become a head coach in the league. A successful 2023 would position him well for such an opportunity regardless of whether Rodgers or Jordan Love starts under center in Green Bay. Still, he probably remains a year away from being a year away at the least.