The Green Bay Packers have named Edgar Bennett wide receivers coach, Jerry Fontenot running backs coach, Joel Hilgenberg offensive quality control coach, and John Rushing assistant wide receivers/special teams coach.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy made the announcement Friday.
Bennett will be entering his seventh season on Green Bays coaching staff, having tutored the teams running backs from 2005-10. He oversaw the development of Ryan Grant, who became just the third running back in team history to eclipse the 1,200-yard mark in back-to-back seasons (2008-09). Prior to that, Bennett spent four seasons (2001-04) as the Packers director of player development. A fourth-round selection of Green Bay in 1992 out of Florida State, Bennett ranks No. 10 in team history with 3,353 rushing yards over five seasons (1992-96) and continues to hold the franchises single-season record for receptions by a running back with 78, set in 1994.
Fontenot will be entering his sixth season on the Packers coaching staff in 2011. He began his tenure in Green Bay as a coaching intern in the summer of 2006 and remained with the team throughout that season to assist with the offensive line. In 2007, Fontenot was promoted to assistant offensive line coach, a position he held the past four seasons (2007-10) as he aided in the development of several young linemen. A longtime center, Fontenot played in 239 games with Chicago, New Orleans and Cincinnati during his 16-year NFL career (1989-2004). He was a third-round draft choice by the Bears in 89 out of Texas A&M, where he earned all-conference honors three times.
Hilgenberg worked as a coaching intern for the Packers during training camp, mini-camp and a portion of OTAs in 2010, assisting offensive line coach James Campen and Fontenot. He played in 142 games as a center/guard during his 10-year NFL career (1984-93) with the New Orleans Saints. Hilgenberg earned Pro Bowl recognition in 1992 and was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2006. A fourth-round selection by the Saints in 1984, he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at the University of Iowa and earned second-team All-America honors in 1983.
Rushing spent the past two seasons as Green Bays offensive quality control coach, his first foray into the NFL after 13 years in the college coaching ranks. He worked with the Packers during training camp in 2008 through the NFLs Minority Coaching Internship Program before being named to the quality control position in February 2009. Rushing came to Green Bay from Utah State, where he spent six seasons (2003-08) coaching defensive backs. He coached the secondary at Montana State (2000-02) and Willamette University (1996-97) and also served as a graduate assistant coach for the secondary at Boise State for two seasons (1998-99). As a player, Rushing started all four years at defensive back for Washington State (1991-94).