Making the Lambeau leap

JOE PHILBIN Strong Mass. ties

The first seeds were planted at Worcester Academy. The self-described tall, skinny kid from Longmeadow watched mentors such as Kirk Ferentz and Mike Sherman and thought that life as a teacher/coach looked appealing.

The year was 1979, and Joe Philbin was a postgraduate student. Little did he know that Ferentz would go on to become a big-time football coach at the University of Iowa, or that Sherman would embark on an NFL career that would lead him to a head coaching position with the Green Bay Packers.

This year, Philbin's career hit a high point.

After breaking into coaching in 1984 as a graduate assistant at Tulane, and following a winding road that included stops at Worcester Tech (1985), Northeastern (1995-96), and Harvard (1997-98), Philbin was named the Packers' offensive coordinator in January. He had been the team's offensive line coach since 2003 and was promoted after Jeff Jagodzinski was hired as Boston College's head coach in December.

For the 45-year-old Philbin, it all traces back to the days when he was a little-used tight end and defensive end at Worcester Academy and Ferentz would knock on the door for bed checks each night, or Sherman would be holding office hours for his English class. Ken O'Keefe, now Iowa's offensive coordinator, was another coach who made an indelible impression.

"I guess I kind of wanted to be like those guys, I looked up to them," Philbin said last week from his office at Lambeau Field. "It was a special one year in my life and those guys were certainly great role models for me."

The ties never loosened, as Philbin went on to work as an assistant for O'Keefe at Allegheny College (1990-93), for Ferentz at Iowa (1999-2002), and for Sherman in Green Bay (2003-05). When the Packers replaced Sherman with Mike McCarthy prior to the 2006 season, Philbin was retained.

Now he'll be the voice in the helmet of quarterback Brett Favre each Sunday.

"When you come to work for the Green Bay Packers, you get a real appreciation for the tradition and history of the National Football League; I hope it doesn't sound arrogant, but I think the Green Bay Packers stand for a lot of things that are good in the NFL," said Philbin, who has six children with his wife, Diane. "For a guy that has a family as I do, to be able to coach here in Green Bay, Wis., it's a tremendous thrill."

Perhaps the most significant question facing Philbin's offense is who will fill the void left by running back Ahman Green, who after seven productive seasons signed with the Texans. Third-year players Vernand Morency and Noah Herron and rookie second-round pick Brandon Jackson of Nebraska are the top candidates.

While some Packer followers were disappointed the team didn't acquire Randy Moss, Philbin sees a "real competitive group" at receiver, led by Pro Bowler Donald Driver and second-year man Greg Jennings, a second-round draft choice in 2006 who showed promise before being slowed by an ankle injury.

The Packers will enter training camp with Chad Clifton (left tackle), Daryn Colledge (left guard), Scott Wells (center), Jason Spitz (right guard), and Mark Tauscher (right tackle) as their top five linemen, with Colledge and Spitz having stepped in as rookies last season.

Meanwhile, Bubba Franks and Robert Lee are 1-2 at tight end, while Favre returns for his 17th NFL season, and 16th with the Packers.

"There's great comfort there; I feel very fortunate that he's lining up under center," Philbin said. "As a competitor, he is probably unmatched at his position, perhaps in the history of the game. His leadership, and what that means to teammates, it's hard to put a price tag on that."

Philbin, whose parents Paul and Mary still live in Longmeadow and whose five siblings all reside in Massachusetts, returns to the Bay State each summer.

"I've enjoyed every stop along the way," he said. "In this profession, you appreciate the chance to work with good people, and I've had the good fortune to work with a lot of great people."

The gap between the AFC and NFC seems to be getting wider, and CBS analyst and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms offers a reason.

"It's the coaching," Simms said. "I hear some people say it's the quarterbacks, but I believe organizations and coaches have as much to do with making the quarterbacks as the quarterbacks do themselves. I think if Tom Brady was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, he would not be the Tom Brady he is today.

"I also look at Peyton Manning and ask, 'Would any other team have taken him the way Bill Polian did and built it all around him?' I think the answer is no, and that comes from talking to many, many coaches who all say they would never have given Peyton the power the Colts have. So that's an organizational thing.

"I look at Mike Shanahan [in Denver]. I know they haven't won the Super Bowl since John Elway, but they're always in the hunt, always a team to pay attention to. The one constant there is the coach.

"And another good example is the Jets. I thought that had to be one of the worst teams in football last year. So how did they turn it around? It's the coach [Eric Mangini]."

While Simms sees superior coaching and organizations in the AFC -- the conference that CBS broadcasts -- he also notices an interesting dynamic taking shape between the Patriots and Colts. The Patriots' aggressive offseason moves remind him of his own playing days.

"When I played, every move we made for years and years was for two reasons: to block the Philadelphia Eagles and to beat the Washington Redskins," said Simms. "And we figured if we could do that, we could beat anybody.

"So now you have the Colts, and Peyton in his prime and having done some amazing things in that championship game, and you need an answer to that.

"You can't slow them down, so what do you do? You run with them."

When the Patriots begin contract discussions with first-round draft choice Brandon Meriweather, two agents with Massachusetts ties will be on the other side of the table.

Meriweather is represented by Athletes First, a California-based company that was founded in 2001. Wareham native Joby Branion and Medfield native Brian Murphy founded the company along with CEO David Dunn, after Dunn parted ways with Leigh Steinberg in an ugly, much-publicized split. (Dunn is under suspension from the NFL Players Association as part of the fallout from that split.)

So might the two hometown guys offer up a discount for the hometown team? Don't count on it.

The 44-year-old Branion, who attended Tabor Academy and later served on the school's board of directors, never planned on becoming a sports agent. After playing football at Duke and failing to hook on after signing a rookie free agent deal with the Redskins, he worked as the director of minority admissions at Duke for six years before enrolling in law school and business school at UCLA.

He was 33 and working as a lawyer when a friend approached him about shifting his focus, and he took the plunge.

Meanwhile, Murphy long had ambitions of representing professional athletes, joking that "when I got benched on my sixth-grade Pop Warner football team, I realized I wasn't going to be an athlete, so I better be a sports agent."

He said that while others idolized athletes, he looked up to Bob Woolf, who represented Larry Bird, among others.

Murphy graduated from Medfield High in 1988, went on to Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree, and then attended Harvard Law School. His first job with Ropes & Gray in Boston had him focusing mostly on trial work and negotiations, before a friend from Harvard Law School opened a door for him to break into the sports agent business.

Athletes First also represents Patriots seventh-round pick Oscar Lua as well as quarterback Matt Cassel and offensive lineman Wesley Britt. Quarterbacks Carson Palmer (Bengals) and Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks) are two of the firm's more notable clients.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with sports editors from across the country late last month in New York. On canceling the China Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks, he said the league was "not as far advanced in our marketing of the game as we should be." He also touched on the possibility of the Super Bowl being played outside the United States. "We have talked in-house about that," he said. "It is truly an international event. London, Toronto, and Mexico City have been discussed. Because of time-difference issues, those are the logical ones. Nothing could happen before 2012." Goodell also addressed the lingering issue of helping retired players with major medical problems. "We are sensitive to that issue," he said. "Four things we are looking at doing are facilities for medical care, low-cost insurance, assisted living facilities, and dire-need funds."

Former Patriots assistant Chris Palmer, who as the quarterbacks coach with the Cowboys last season tutored Tony Romo, has hooked on with the Giants. As former No. 1 overall pick Eli Manning enters his fourth season with the Giants and has yet to live up to lofty expectations, Palmer's role will be watched closely. Palmer, who said he's seen Manning make all the necessary throws, is preaching patience. "In today's environment, a player maybe has to play before he's ready," he said. "It takes time to develop in this league. One time I was listening to Phil Simms, and he said in this environment he would have already been with five different teams. There is a lot of truth to that."

The Patriots' offseason approach has left the NFL's other 31 teams in the dust when it comes to total payouts. When accounting for signing bonuses, base salaries, and roster bonuses, the Patriots have spent more than $40 million -- more than $8 million more than any other team.

Bengals receiver Chad Johnson doesn't talk trash just to opponents, he does it to his teammates, too. The Bengals are holding a rookie minicamp this weekend and Johnson made sure some of the top newcomers know who he is, placing an autographed football card of himself and a hand-written note in the locker of first-round draft pick Leon Hall, a cornerback from Michigan. The note read: "This is as close as you'll get to touch me. God bless." Welcome to Cincinnati, Leon.

The Dolphins cap off their first minicamp under coach Cam Cameron today, and the team has shuffled some parts on the offensive line, moving Vernon Carey from right tackle to left tackle and bumping L.J. Shelton from right guard to right tackle. The changes are a result of the Dolphins losing left tackle Damion McIntosh in free agency, which puts Carey -- the team's first-round draft choice in 2004 -- on the hot seat protecting the quarterback's blind side. "I just sense he's a guy we can develop some trust in," Cameron said.

Remember the name Stewart Bradley. When the Philadelphia Eagles selected Bradley in the third round of last weekend's draft, the news was met with a groan in the Patriots' draft room. The Nebraska linebacker was a player the Patriots would have been pleased to draft with the 91st overall selection, but the Eagles snared him 87th. As it turns out, it was a bit of payback for the Eagles, who were hoping to see Miami safety Brandon Meriweather available 26th overall in the first round before the Patriots took him two spots earlier. With Bradley off the board, the Patriots ended up trading their third-round pick to the Raiders.

Former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi plans to play an 11th season in the NFL, although it won't be in Cleveland, as the Browns cut him loose Friday after two seasons with the club. Andruzzi had a knee scope after the season, so he might wait until he's fully healthy to start visiting interested clubs. Andruzzi was set to earn $1.5 million this season but got caught in a numbers crunch after the Browns drafted tackle Joe Thomas in the first round and made a free agent splash by signing guard Eric Steinbach to a seven-year, $49 million deal.

The Patriots have invited Air Force linebacker/safety Denny Poland (6 feet 2 inches, 228 pounds) to next weekend's rookie minicamp . . . Brown's Zak DeOssie was the lone player who attended a Massachusetts high school (Phillips Andover Academy) to be selected in this year's draft . . . Harvard defensive lineman Mike Berg was invited to the Giants' minicamp next weekend, as he will be looking to make the transition to fullback . . . The Dolphins are hoping strong family genes help undrafted free agent Michael Malone, a wide receiver from Sam Houston State who is the son of NBA great Moses Malone . . . Former Patriots assistant strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul was let go by the Jets after one season and has landed with the Giants. . . . Patriots running back Kevin Faulk is hosting a celebrity softball game Saturday at Brockton's Campanelli Stadium. First pitch is at 6 p.m. and proceeds benefit the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the United Way of Acadiana in Lafayette, La., one of the local chapters in Faulk's home state that is helping victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.