Texas A&M coaches to tutor Packers on defending read-option

10:36 AM ET 02.23 | Packers coach Mike McCarthy is not one to allow something to remain broken. If he sees a structural problem, he tries to fix it in the off-season. With that in mind, McCarthy plans on sending his defensive staff to Texas A & M to study the read-option offense and ways to defend it. He's not the first person to reach out to college coaches for help. Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees did the same thing in the two weeks before Super Bowl XLVII and it paid off big dividends. McCarthy's defense took a 579-yard beating against the San Francisco 49ers and their read-option offense led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a divisional round playoff loss. He'd prefer that not happen again. "Definitely there's a lot of conversation about the read option -- rightfully so," McCarthy said. "Five hundred seventy-nine, that's a number that will stick in our focus as a defense throughout the offseason. We're studying the read option, the teams that are doing it in the NFL. "We're even going to the college ranks, we'll have a couple college coaches come in, spend some time with our staff. Actually, our defensive staff is going to take a trip to Texas A&M, Kevin Sumlin is someone I have great respect for and with his ability to share from both the offensive side and the defensive side his experience in the read option. "It's something from an education, preparation standpoint that we will grow as a staff and be better prepared for in the future."

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel