Zook charged with helping turn Packers special teams around

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Ron Zook only spent one season working with Shawn Slocum as part of the Green Bay Packers special teams. Despite the struggles of that group this past season, Zook expected the two of them to get another shot together to fix it.

Zook, who was the special teams assistant in 2014, found out in late January that the Packers had fired Slocum as coordinator. Zook said he was "in shock" over the news.

In the two weeks that followed, Zook didn't know where he stood within the organization. Maybe he'd be promoted, released or kept in his same job responsibility.

It turned out that Mike McCarthy had bigger plans for Zook and promoted him to Slocum's former role as special teams coordinator.

"I had no idea which direction Coach was going to go," Zook said. "I've been in this business long enough to know you don't hope and think. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I also know from my own experience that sometimes you get relieved and it's not because you didn't do a good job."

While Zook takes over special teams with the help of assistant Jason Simmons (who was a defensive/special teams assistant last season), he'll be seeing a lot more of McCarthy compared to what Slocum did. As part of McCarthy's decision to step down as offensive play-caller, he'll be splitting his time equally between special teams, offense and defense.

It's on special teams where McCarthy sees the most work needing to be done.

"I will spend a lot of time with the special teams; special teams needs to improve," McCarthy said. "It's an area definitely of concern in the past. We have to continue to develop our young players, get them ready to play and contribute as quickly as possible.

"And we need to get more out of our veterans. To me, that's the hole in our special teams. The consistency and the standard of play in our veteran players is not where it needs to be. And that will be a direct focus of mine."

Green Bay finished last in the annual special teams rankings by Dallas Morning News' Rick Gosselin. One significant factor in the Packers' last-place spot was the seven blocked kicks allowed, but it was in the NFC championship game when two special teams mistakes -- first Seattle's touchdown on a fake field goal and then the onside kick gaffe by Brandon Bostick -- were most costly.

"I think what happens is you go back and look at the 12 bad plays (on special teams)," Zook said. "There were an awful lot of good plays on special teams, and there were 12 plays that weren't good. Over the course of the season, percentage-wise, there's probably that many bad plays on defense and that many good plays on offense, percentage-wise. It's just that on special teams it can have a serious outcome on the game."

Zook wouldn't confirm what the 12 bad special teams plays were in his opinion, but the seven blocked kicks, two breakdowns against the Seahawks and a kick and punt return allowed for touchdowns make up 11 of them.

He believes that a dozen bad special teams plays throughout a season isn't an abnormally high amount.

"Really, there was only a couple plays that had an outcome on the game," Zook said. "If you go back and take everybody in the National Football League, they probably had 12 plays, whether it be a return or a block or something bad happening. The way it turned out with us, those particular plays, particularly at the end, they had a serious outcome on the game and effect on the game.

"It's what people remember, and it's an easy thing to fix, where other things maybe aren't so easy to fix."

Zook referenced the 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that Chicago had in Week 10 as an example of a bad special teams play that had no effect on the outcome because Green Bay had a 55-7 lead at the time.

This isn't Zook's first time heading up special teams in the NFL, as he was the coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1996-98. He later became the head coach at the University of Florida (2002-04) and University of Illinois (2005-11) but was out of football entirely until McCarthy gave him a job last year.

"When I was in Pittsburgh I said I couldn't wait to get away from special teams," Zook said. "I said I never wanted to be with the punt team again. As soon as I became a head coach, I obviously became very involved with it again."

Zook made "a lot of suggestions" to Slocum during the 2014 season. Some got used, others didn't.

This upcoming season, McCarthy will be "the third guy in the room" with special teams and will have oversight into everything Zook does.

"That culture's going to change in there, I promise you that," McCarthy said.

McCarthy's involvement is fine with Zook.

"I always had a saying in football, 'Everybody needs to have a little fear for their job,'" Zook said. "Whether it be the players or the coaches or whoever, and (McCarthy) adds that kind of thing."

Now the Packers just hope that the promotion of Zook and the more involved approach from McCarthy turn things around on special teams moving forward.

"It's all about growth, it's all about culture, it's all about energy," McCarthy said. "And we'll have energy and a different culture on special teams."

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