Packers players and staff from Illinois: EDGE Lukas Van Ness was born in Elgin, Ill., and attended Barrington (Ill.) High School…S Xavier McKinney was born in East St. Louis, Ill. …LB Nick Niemann attended Sycamore (Ill.) High School…G/T John Williams was born in Bolingbrook, Ill., where he attended Bolingbrook High School…OL coach Luke Butkus was born in Steger, Ill., and attended Bloom Trail (Ill.) High School…Assistant special teams coach Cory Harkey was born in Chicago…Packers players and staff who played college football in Illinois: Butkus played at the University of Illinois from 1999-2001…Senior personnel executive/director of pro scouting Lee Gissendaner played wide receiver at Northwestern from 1990-93… Director of college scouting Patrick Moore played at Illinois Wesleyan…Packers coaches who have coached in Illinois: Butkus served as an OL coach at the University of Illinois in 2012 and from 2016-18…OLBs/run game coordinator/assistant head coach – defense DeMarcus Covington was on the coaching staff at Eastern Illinois in 2016… Secondary/pass game coordinator Bobby Babich was the secondary coach for Eastern Illinois from 2007-10… Defensive analyst Scott Fuchs was the OL coach for Southern Illinois in 2008…Packers staff with connections to Illinois: Vice president of player health and performance Bryan Engel is from Hanover Park, Ill., and attended the University of Illinois…Moore was the OL coach at Illinois Wesleyan in 1997…Coaching operations coordinator Joe McKillip worked in football operations and recruiting at Northern Illinois from 2011-12…Bears with connections to Wisconsin: LB T.J. Edwards (2014-18) and LB Jack Sanborn (2018-21) played at the University of Wisconsin… RBs coach Eric Studesville was born in Madison, Wis., where he attended Verona (Wis.) High School, and played at Wisconsin-Whitewater…Assistant strength and conditioning coach Mark Philippi is from Menomonee Falls, 6 Wis. …Former Bears: Butkus attended training camp with the Bears in 2002 and served as an offensive assistant/ assistant OL coach from 2007-09…TEs coach John Dunn was a football assistant for the Bears in 2016 and an offensive assistant for the team in 2017…QBs/assistant head coach – offense Luke Getsy was the Bears’ offensive coordinator from 2022-23…DT Jonathan Ford played for the Bears from 2024-25…Former Packers: LS Scott Daly spent time on Green Bay’s practice squad in 2026… Assistant DBs/safeties coach Matt Giordano played for the Packers in 2009…DBs/passing game coordinator Al Harris played for the Packers from 2003-09…Notable NFL connections: Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was the QBs coach for the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons (2015- 16) when Bears LBs coach Richard Smith was the defensive coordinator…Bears DL Grady Jarrett played for the Falcons when LaFleur was on the coaching staff…LaFleur was on the Houston Texans’ coaching staff and Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich played for the Texans when Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower and Smith were on the Texans’ coaching staff in 2008…LaFleur and Hightower were both on the Washington Redskins’ coaching staff for four seasons (2010-13)…LaFleur and Hightower were on the Redskins’ coaching staff when Packers DL coach Vince Oghobaase played there in 2010…LaFleur was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017 when Bears senior defensive assistant Bill Johnson was on the coaching staff… LaFleur was the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2018 when Bears WR Kalif Raymond played there… Raymond was teammates with Packers LS Matt Orzech with the Titans in 2020…Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was a scout for the St. Louis Rams when Harris played cornerback for the Rams in 2011…Gannon was the defensive coordinator and Packers DT Javon Hargrave played for the Philadelphia Eagles when Edwards played there from 2021-22…Gannon was on the Titans’ coaching staff when Bears assistant OL coach Kyle Devan played there in 2012…Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was on the New Orleans Saints’ coaching staff from 2006-07 when Packers executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball was the Saints’ vice president of football administration… Hightower was on the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff when Packers offensive quality control coach T.C. McCartney and Oghobaase coached there…Bears TEs coach Jim Dray played for the 49ers when Oghobaase coached there in 2016…Hightower also overlapped with Stenavich and Packers CBs coach Daniel Bullocks during his time with the 49ers…Dray was teammates with Packers QB Tyrod Taylor with the Buffalo Bills in 2016… Passing game coordinator Jason Vrable was on the Bills’ coaching staff when Dray played there in 2016…Babich and Harkey were on the Bills’ coaching staff when Bears DB Cam Lewis and QB Case Keenum played there in 2022…Dray played for the Browns when Hightower and Babich coached there in 2014…McCartney was an offensive assistant with the Browns when Keenum played there from 2020-21…Harkey played for the St. Louis Rams and Packers RBs coach Ben Sirmans served in the same role when Giordano (2013) and Keenum (2014) played there… Smith and Bears defensive quality control coach Zach Cable were on the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching staff in 2021 when Packers CB Keisean Nixon played there… Studesville was the associate head coach/RBs coach with the Miami Dolphins when Packers RB Chris Brooks played there in 2023…Packers LBs coach Sam Siefkes was on the Minnesota Vikings’ coaching staff when Bears DL James Lynch and DB Xavier Woods played there in 2021… McKinney and Taylor overlapped with Bears assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins during his time with the N.Y. Giants in 2022…Bears OL Joe Thuney played for the New England Patriots when Covington and Packers special teams coordinator Cam Achord were on the coaching staff for three seasons (2018-20)…Achord and Covington crossed paths with Bears offensive analyst Will Lawing (2023) and offensive quality control coach Isaiah Ford (2020) with the Patriots…Packers defensive quality control coach Jamael Lett was the Patriots’ defensive coaching assistant when Bears DL Jamree Kromah played for New England in 2024…Vrable was an offensive assistant for the New York Jets when Raymond played there in 2017…Packers LB Zaire Franklin and DL Dayo Odeyingbo were teammates with the Indianapolis Colts when Smith was on the Colts’ coaching staff from 2022-24…Franklin and Bears DL Neville Gallimore were teammates with the Colts in 2025…Packers WR Skyy Moore and Thuney were teammates with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2022-24… Hargrave and Bears LB Devin Bush were teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019…Packers G Laken Tomlinson and G Aaron Banks were teammates with Bears DL Kentavius Street with the 49ers in 2021… Hightower was the 49ers’ coaching staff when Tomlinson and Banks played in 2021…Packers CB Benjamin St-Juste and Bears DL Montez Sweat played together with the Commanders from 2021-23…Notable college connections: LaFleur was the QBs coach at Notre Dame when Daly played there in 2014…Banks and Bears TE Cole Kmet were teammates at Notre Dame from 2017-19…Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Lawing played at North Carolina when Dunn was on the coaching staff from 2004- 07…Johnson and Sirmans were on Boston College’s coaching staff together from 2009-11…Getsy coached at Mississippi State when Sweat played there in 2018… Packers S Evan Williams played at Fresno State when Giordano was on the coaching staff in 2022…Oghobaase and Packers LB Isaiah McDuffie overlapped with Bears OL Ozzy Trapilo at Boston College in 2020…Bears RB D’Andre Swift crossed paths with Packers assistant OL coach Eddie Gordon, EDGE Brenton Cox Jr. and DT Devonte Wyatt at Georgia…Bears DB Tyrique Stevenson Sr. also overlapped with Gordon and Wyatt at Georgia…St-Juste and Bush played together at Michigan from 2017-18…Packers EDGE Barryn Sorrell crossed paths with Bears RB Roschon Johnson and DB Malik Muhammad II at Texas…Packers WR Matthew Golden was also teammates with Muhammad at Texas in 2024…Bears OL Logan Jones and P Tory Taylor were teammates with Packers RB Kaleb Johnson at Iowa from 2022-23…Packers WR Bo Melton crossed paths with Bears OL Jonah Jackson, RB Kyle Monangai and Kromah at Rutgers…Bears WR Rome Odunze and Packers TE Mark Redman were teammates at Washington from 2020-21…Stevenson and Ford played together at Miami (Fla.) in 2021…Packers S Kitan Oladapo and Bears DB Skyler Thomas were teammates at Oregon State from 2021-23…Packers EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton and Bears DL Jordan van den Berg played together at Penn State from 2022-23…Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd was teammates with Bears QB Caleb Williams at the USC in 2023…Devan was the OL coach at Arizona when Packers T/G Jordan Morgan played there from 2019-20… Bears defensive quality control coach Kenny Norton III was teammates with Orzech at Azusa Pacific for five seasons (2013-17)…Other notable connections: Butkus is the nephew of Hall of Fame former Bears linebacker Dick Butkus…Kmet’s father, Frank Kmet, spent time with the Packers in 1992 and 1996.
