Jerry Gray has Left His Mark on Packers Secondary

After going on a spending spree during the offseason proceeding the 2019 season, the Green Bay Packers had a much quieter free agency period the following year–highlighted by Rick Wagner, Christian Kirksey, and Devin Funchess. 

But there was one other addition they made that offseason, one that very likely flew under the radar because, well, he was a position coach. Green Bay would hire defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, who had previously held that same title with Minnesota since the 2014 season.

As a player, Gray was a former first-round pick and a four-time Pro Bowler. He has been a coach in the NFL since 1997, which includes two stints as defensive coordinator–the first with Buffalo from 2001 to 2005 and the next with Tennessee from 2011 to 2013.

Gray is held in high regard around the NFL, and over his career, he has coached the likes of Fred Smoot, Blaine Bishop, Nate Clements, DeAngelo Hall, Antoine Winfield, and Samari Rolle. In Minnesota, he also spent time with Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes, both of whom were first-team All-Pros under Gray’s tutelage. 

“He’s known for filling in the blanks,” said Smoot via Packers News. “Every time you get a cornerback in this league, it’s always going to be ‘he does this well, does this well, but..’ He’s going to find out whatever that ‘but’ is and he’s going to work on that. He’s never going to work on the things you already do great. He’s going to try to complete the pizza, if you know what I mean.”

Gray was joining a Packers secondary with plenty of talent, but also a young one that could be prone to mistakes. However, in just one season under Gray, we saw several members of this Green Bay defensive backfield thriving. 

Jaire Alexander was named a second-team All-Pro and became a legitimate shutdown cornerback, allowing a completion rate of 48. 7 percent and only 9.5 yards per catch along with 14 pass breakups and three interceptions, according to PFF. Meanwhile, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage formed arguably the best safety duo in football over the second half of the season, while Chandon Sullivan ranked third among all slot corners in snaps per reception and third in snaps per target.

For Gray, it’s not a complicated process; he knows what to do, the players just have to be willing to listen and to work.

“Because like I tell all the young guys, I got the knowledge to get you where you have to go, said Gary. “Now, it’s up to you to want to work to get there. Every guy who has basically taken that knowledge I’ve tried to give them, I’m not going to force it on you, but I’m going to try to give (it to) you and let you be the best corner in the league. If you want to be the Pro Bowl guy, I can help you get there. If you want to be an All-Pro, I can try to help you get there. But you’ve got to put your work in. I’ll give you the knowledge, but you got to put the work in.”

This season, the Green Bay Packers faced new challenges. They have been without Alexander since Week 4, and the overall depth of the unit was a very real concern entering the year. But even with all of the uncertainty, this unit has played at a high level.

The Green Bay pass defense ranks ninth in the NFL in average yards per game allowed, and they also rank fifth in total interceptions.

Individually, Amos continues to be one of the most reliable safeties in football, and Sullivan again ranks well among slot corners in snaps per target, yards per snap, and passer rating. Kevin King has had three of the better games of his career against Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Seattle, while the development of Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes have been two big reasons behind the defense’s overall success.

Combined, the duo has been targeted 154 times this season and allowed a catch rate of just 51.2 percent at 11 yards per catch. Stokes has tallied nine pass breakups, an interception, and a passer rating of 78.4. Meanwhile, Douglas has six pass breakups, five interceptions, including two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 51.1 per PFF.

Douglas has since gone on to say that since coming to Green Bay, he’s changed the way he watches film and what he’s looking for with the guidance of Gray.

“I think he (Gray) does a great job of mentoring all those players in that room in terms of what it means to be a pro and how to get the most out of your career,” LaFleur said via Packers.com.

“He’s a guy that I kind of lean on at times as well, just to get his advice on certain things. So, we’re very fortunate to have him part of this organization and part of this coaching staff.”

Now, of course, it’s not as if Gray is the sole reason behind the secondary’s play this season. The players are the ones on the field making the plays, the Green Bay pass rush has been one of the best in football, and Joe Barry’s defensive system, which is designed to take away the pass and provides safety help, is a contributor as well. 

With that said, given Gray’s long track record as a DBs coach, it’s not a coincidence that several players who have been a part of Gray’s secondary over the past two seasons have had some of the better performances of their careers. 

It comes with the territory, but position coaches can be one of the least talked about and often most forgotten about members of a football team. But when it comes to this Green Bay Packers’ secondary, specifically the cornerback position, that was filled with question marks entering the season, Gray has left his mark.  

“My job is to make sure the guys are getting better and seeing the success on the football field that they want to see, and they’ll keep listening,” Gray said via Packers.com. “If you don’t see success, they won’t come back. My job is to keep them coming back.”