GREEN BAY, Wis. -- To Mike McCarthy, none of his position coaches are coaching out of position. The way the Green Bay Packers head coach figures it, he?s assembled a group of excellent coaches on the offensive side of the ball, and it doesn?t matter that some of them have jobs that are incongruous with their experience.

?I don?t look at it as musical chairs,? McCarthy said Monday. ?I really think it?s creative thinking that has worked out well for us.?

And while a less accomplished coach might be facing criticism for his outside-the-box approach, it may turn out that McCarthy is simply a man ahead of his time ? which is why, after winning Super Bowl XLV and leading his team to a franchise- and NFL-best 15-1 regular-season record in 2011, he?ll get the benefit of the doubt on what he?s done with his staff.

So who cares that the Packers new quarterbacks coach, Ben McAdoo, spent the last six years coaching the team?s tight ends?

What does it matter that Jerry Fontenot, who played 16 NFL seasons as a center, and worked with the offensive line when he first joined the staff, spent last season coaching running backs and is now in charge of tight ends?

Why is it a big deal that the team?s new hire, Alex Van Pelt, played nine years in the NFL at quarterback and has coached both the Buffalo Bills? quarterbacks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? quarterbacks but will be in charge of running backs instead?

And how can we forget Edgar Bennett? The former running back coached running backs for six years before McCarthy started this whole newfangled idea by moving him to wide receivers coach last year.

?I feel it?s an opportunity to hire the best man, the best coach. We try to do that every single time we have a position open,? explained McCarthy, who made the moves after offensive coordinator Joe Philbin became head coach of the Miami Dolphins Jan. 22 and former quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was promoted to offensive coordinator Feb. 2. ?Really, having a coach that?s played another position within the offense really brings another level of expertise or experience to that room.

?I really like the experience level, the diversity. That?s something that we can really draw from, both Tom and I, as we continue to try to build this offense and stay creative and get ready for next year. I love the diversity of it. More importantly, it?s about men. It?s about the right type of people that fit together, and we feel like we?ve accomplished that.?

That doesn?t mean that Clements, McAdoo, Fontenot and Van Pelt don?t have to prove themselves in their new roles, of course. And it all starts with McAdoo, who may be facing the biggest challenge: Helping quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP, get better while also convincing him that their pairing is a good one.

Rodgers said last week that he would prefer a veteran quarterbacks coach, preferably one with experience playing the position at the NFL level. Speaking on the season finale of his weekly radio show on ESPN Wisconsin the day before the news of McAdoo?s promotion broke, Rodgers had a lukewarm response when the possibility of McAdoo getting the quarterbacks job was raised.

?I think that?s an interesting conversation I hope I?m in the loop for,? Rodgers said. ?Because going into my eighth season, it?ll be interesting to see what direction (McCarthy) wants to go in, if he wants to bring in a former quarterback with experience to kind of help me with my transition into the middle part of my career, being more of an established player in the league now.

?I?m not sure what the dynamic would be with a coach who hasn?t coached the (quarterback) position before. But Ben is a very talented coach and if they do make that decision I?m sure he?ll make a very smooth transition.?

McAdoo?s focus won?t solely be on Rodgers, however. With backup Matt Flynn set to become an unrestricted free agent in March and likely to be starting for one of the NFL?s other 31 teams, McAdoo must help develop another capable backup to replace Flynn, with No. 3 quarterback Graham Harrell getting the first opportunity.

Asked about Rodgers? comments Monday, McAdoo replied: ?I see where he?s coming from. I don?t have lesser feelings toward him because of that. I?m comfortable with myself, I have a lot of confidence in myself. Everyone has an ego in this business, you just try to manage it the best you can. But I look forward to working with Aaron. We have a good relationship, and this transition?s going to be smooth.

?You hear that a lot in the league, how ?it?s a quarterback-driven league.? He gets to touch the ball every play, so obviously that?s important. I don?t feel any extra pressure though, no.?

What?s curious is that Van Pelt, having both played and coached the quarterback position in the NFL, actually fits Rodgers? ideal as a replacement for Clements. But McCarthy, who prevented McAdoo from interviewing for offensive coordinator openings in Miami and Tampa Bay, said McAdoo?s promotion to QBs coach has been in the works for years.

?(With) Ben, this is something that we?ve been preparing for,? McCarthy said. ?Ben has been an observer at the quarterback school in the past. Not last year, obviously, with the lockout, but the year before that, so this is a promotion that we were anticipating for probably the last two years.?

Rodgers has made no secret about how much Clements has meant to his development ? on the NBC Super Bowl XLVI pregame show, he called Clements the most influential person on his football career ? and McCarthy and Clements both said they expect that relationship to continue, even with Clements? expanded responsibilities.

?Every offensive coordinator, I think, should have a good, close, working relationship with the quarterback, and that?ll be no different,? McCarthy said. ?Obviously, Tom coached Aaron and has an excellent relationship with him. But our (previous) coordinator, Joe Philbin, was very much involved with the quarterback room. Tom and myself will continue to make sure that room is trained (the same way) and the culture in that room is what it needs to be. That?s something that?s been established since Day 1, starting with Tom and myself and will continue with Ben.?

Added Clements: ?When I was the quarterbacks coach, Mike was quite often in the quarterback meetings. As a coordinator, you tend to gravitate to the things you know best. I?m sure I?ll be in all the meetings at some point, but I?ll be in the quarterback meetings.?

In fact, Clements and McCarthy expect a significant amount of crossover among the assistants because of their varied backgrounds. While their positions are clearly defined, there?s nothing stopping Van Pelt from offering a suggestion or two to McAdoo about quarterbacks, or McAdoo doing the same for Fontenot about tight ends.

?Obviously my position is to coach the running backs, and I?m going to do everything in my power to coach those guys. But I?m going to lean on Edgar in areas that I don?t have expertise in, and Jerry, who?s worked with the (running backs) room last year,? Van Pelt said. ?If Ben needed anything from me, obviously I?d be there for him. The key is, I think we?ve got a good staff of good coaches. And we?ll find a way to get them coached up.?