Packer Central

Packers’ Adam Stenavich Does Not Get Texans’ Offensive Coordinator Job

For the second time this offseason, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich interviewed for a coordinator job but did not get the gig.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich slaps hands with fans as he walks to practice at training camp.
Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich slaps hands with fans as he walks to practice at training camp. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Adam Stenavich seems poised to return for a fourth year as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator.Stenavich was up for the coordinator position for the Houston Texans, but coach DeMeco Ryans hired Nick Caley, instead. Caley was the passing-game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams last season.

Stenavich has been the Packers’ offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Even through season-long inconsistency, the Packers finished eighth in points and fifth in total offense in 2024.

Stenavich interviewed in Houston and Seattle, which needed play-calling offensive coordinators. One of those jobs would have been the next step in Stenavich’s career. Instead, Houston picked Caley and Seattle selected Klint Kubiak.

At the start of the weekend, the Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints were the only teams without an offensive coordinator.

However, Houston and Las Vegas are off the board, with new Raiders coach Pete Carroll selecting Chip Kelly. Meanwhile, the new play-callers for Dallas and Jacksonville figure to be their new head coaches, Brian Schottenheimer and Liam Coen, respectively.

The Saints still don’t have a coach, though Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is considered the front-runner.

In Green Bay, Stenavich is the non-play-calling offensive coordinator for coach Matt LaFleur. In Houston, with Ryans focused on the defense, Stenavich essentially would have been the head coach of the offense.

Success in that role would have set up the 41-year-old Stenavich to become a head coach, which LaFleur no doubt understands.

LaFleur was the non-play-calling offensive coordinator for coach Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. After that season, LaFleur interviewed to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans. LaFleur didn’t get that job but he became offensive coordinator in Tennessee, which allowed him to have the play-calling background necessary background and experience to become head coach of the Packers in 2019.

Stenavich interviewed to become head coach of the Bears last month, but that job went to Ben Johnson, who had been the play-calling offensive coordinator for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. He also interviewed to be the play-calling offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, but that job went to Klint Kubiak.

“It’s very collaborative,” LaFleur said of Stenavich’s role in the offense. “I’m always asking him. ‘Hey, what runs you like?’ What’s been so impressive about him is when he became our coordinator, the investment he made in the passing game and the amount of time he’s put in in learning the passing game, so I think he is fully capable.

“I would have no reservations or hesitation – he might as well be calling it on game day. I feel that confident in him, in his ability. It’s a collective effort with all our guys. And so I think he’s more than deserving of that opportunity.”

LaFleur almost certainly would look within his own staff to replace Stenavich.

Receivers coach and passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable is considered one of the top young coaches in the game. Vrable, who turned 40 last week, spent this week as offensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl.

Plus, LaFleur just brought back Luke Getsy with the title senior offensive assistant. Getsy, who will turn 41 in two weeks, was LaFleur’s quarterbacks coach in 2019 and quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator in 2020 and 2021 before serving as the play-calling offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2022 and 2023 and the play-calling coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024 until he was fired at midseason.

Stenavich became offensive coordinator in 2022, when he replaced Nathaniel Hackett after he became head coach of the Broncos. During those three seasons, the Packers ranked 14th in points and 17th in yards during the final season with Aaron Rodgers in 2022, 12th in points and 11th in yards during the first season with Jordan Love and eighth in points and fifth in yards this season.

“Steno is a guy that I trust as much as anybody on our staff,” LaFleur said. “He’s a big part of why we have success offensively. So, I’ve got complete confidence. Never want to see guys leave, but always happy for their opportunity and would certainly help them if that comes up.” 

Before filling the offensive coordinator chair, Stenavich was the Packers’ offensive line coach. That history probably is a big reason for Ryans’ interest.

Houston’s offensive line was a major reason for the Texans’ offensive problems in 2024. That line boasts three former first-round picks – Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard and Kenyon Green – as well as former second-round picks Juice Scruggs and Blake Fisher.

That’s a lot more investment than the Packers have made with their offensive line. But, according to ESPN, Houston’s line ranked 22nd in pass-block win rate and 31st in run-block win rate.

A powerful line and the power running of Joe Mixon could unleash quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had a 100.8 passer rating as a rookie in 2023 but just 87.0 in 2024.

Stenavich was an all-Big Ten left tackle at Michigan. He spent 2008 and 2009 on the Texans’ practice squad.

“Everyone who knows him will say you can trust him, you can depend on him, and when the pressure comes he’ll be prepared,” former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr told SI.com’s Conor Orr for a November story about future head coaches.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.