GREEN BAY -- Football coaches tend to be a forward-thinking lot. They're always about the next play, the next series, the next game. The only use they have for the past -- game film, for example -- is how it might benefit them in the future.

So when Joe Philbin rewound to where the Green Bay Packers' running back position stood on the eve of training camp last year, you knew the Packers offensive coordinator must 've had good reason.

"You go back a year ago, and Vernand Morency, Brandon Jackson and P.J. Pope were going to be the three running backs for the Green Bay Packers," Philbin said before pausing for effect. "That's not how it unfolded.''

No, it didn't.

Morency opened camp as the starter but went down with a knee injury on Day 1; Jackson inherited the job but couldn't hold it; DeShawn Wynn got his shot but squandered it; Noah Herron spent the year on injured reserve with a knee injury; and Pope was released with an injury settlement.

It wasn't until Oct. 29 in Denver that Ryan Grant -- a player who spent training camp with the New York Giants and joined the team in a Sept. 1 trade -- emerged as the answer to the Packers' running-game prayers.

So while the picture may be clearer when training camp opens a week from today -- assuming the team gets a deal done by then with Grant, an exclusive-rights free agent who remains unsigned -- there are still plenty of variables for how the backfield will shake out.

Grant was one of those variables last year before he rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries against the Broncos in relief of an injured Wynn, the first of six 100-yard games (including a Packers' playoff record 201 yards against Seattle in the NFC divisional playoffs) he put up in the second half of the season.

"I don't know that I had a lot of preconceived ideas about him. We were at the stage where we were just hoping to gain three yards. It wasn't like we were asking for a lot at that point," Philbin said when asked if Grant surprised him. "We were real pleased with what he did, and we're excited about what he can do in the future. But I don't know that you sit around in coaching and say, 'We've got this, we've got that' and stick your two feet up on your desk and take a deep breath. You're always one step away from not having that guy."

Ideally, Philbin said the Packers would like to have a backup for Grant -- "If we run the ball the volume of times we'd like to, would it be great to have a clear-cut second guy? Sure it would," he said -- and Jackson will get first crack at it. According to running backs coach Edgar Bennett, Jackson was put in a tough spot as a rookie when the starting role was thrust upon him.

"He started showing everything we thought he could be toward the end of last season," Bennett said. "I mean, the sky's the limit for this kid. He was explosive, he showed vision, he broke tackles, he was a good receiver. His confidence is up there. You can just see it. Now, when he makes a mistake, before he even gets back to the sideline, he's already analyzed why the error occurred. You talk about maturing and growing up."

Wynn seems to have shown similar growth and maturation. While he flashed potential last year, injuries and a less-than-stellar work ethic were problems. Bennett said Wynn had perfect offseason program attendance and finally "gets it."

"He has to continue to grow and develop and be a professional. And a big part of that is taking care of your body and doing the little things," Bennett said. "It doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. It has to be consistent. We have to see it (for) more than two or three days, two or three weeks, two or three months. I think he's headed in the right direction, but we have to continue to see that."

Morency and Herron have experience as the third-down back, and although the coaches liked Morency's work at blitz pickups, it's hard to keep a guy on the roster solely for that purpose.

At fullback, while the team was pleased with incumbents Korey Hall and John Kuhn last season, both will be challenged by Corey White, who spent all year on the practice squad after going back-and-forth between halfback and fullback in last year's camp. That experience actually will help White, since the zone blocking scheme calls for both the lead blocker and the ballcarrier to make quick, smart reads.

"We're excited about Corey White. We want to see what he can do in pads, because he's quick," Philbin said. "You're always looking to get separation between the blocker and the runner. And the faster you are at fullback, the more separation you get and the better off you are.

"In the zone running game, when we have two backs in the backfield, trust me when I say the fullback is almost as important as the guy carrying the ball. He's huge. That's not a just-throw-a-slug-in-there position. He's got to read things, he's got to be decisive as the runner, and he's got two fewer yards of space to make that decision. It's a big job in our offense."