Green Bay The Green Bay Packers’ immediate future behind center, one NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, and one certain first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback have all been developed by Tom Clements, who is retiring.
At a press conference on Tuesday, head coach Matt LaFleur stated that Clements, who has played for the team for 14 seasons total, will be ending his career.
“What a fantastic man, he’s been really consistent.He has undoubtedly had the opportunity to coach some of the greatest. It’s very amazing when you discuss Favre, Rodgers, and Jordan Love’s growth,” LaFleur remarked.
Before becoming a coach, Clements spent 12 seasons as a quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he won two Grey Cup titles (1976 and 1984), was named a seven-time divisional all-star, and was named the league MVP (1987).
He threw for more over 4,700 yards in 1982 during his best statistical season north of the border with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Before being elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1994, Clements had a 60.35 completion percentage, over 39,000 passing yards, and 252 passing touchdowns at the end of his playing career.
Clements was the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2004 and 2005 before joining Green Bay in 2006. He also tutored quarterbacks for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints.
He helped the Packers place second in the NFL in terms of giveaways over his first 11 seasons with Green Bay, and they finished in the top 10 in both scoring offense and total offense nine times each.
In reality, Clements was the Packers’ quarterbacks coach for two terms, from 2006 to 2011, before stepping down to take on other responsibilities and then returning in 2022. Clements assisted the team in switching from a single, highly rated veteran quarterback to a young, promising player in both cases.
Although no firm plans have been established as of yet, LaFleur adds the team may take into account an internal candidate to succeed Clements.
