Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin is shown in this file photo during a Packer's practice in Green Bay.

GREEN BAY - 
We were picturing a library in a locked vault in Lambeau Field.

But Joe Philbin has just one composite book of plays.

We were thinking a ranting and raving sideline presence.

But Philbin stops practice by saying, "Hold on guys" before he realigns everyone the exact right way.

We were assuming "my way or the highway" because it's the philosophy of so many good coaches.

But Philbin practically puts a suggestion box outside his office.

Throw out the stereotypes.

Green Bay's offensive coordinator is not an offensive mastermind, a screamer or a control freak. "He has no ego," University of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

The tall, thin, 49-year-old Philbin, who had a great deal of influence on the Green Bay Packers' record-breaking 2009 season, is about as basic as a skinny post on second down.

"Hey, I think she just called Joe boring," Daryn Colledge bellowed with a laugh to his fellow lineman, Josh Sitton.

"Philbin? No-ooooooo," said Sitton.

Boring doesn't hit the right chord. But he's certainly not flashy. Given numerous opportunities to brag about arguably one of the best offensive machines in the NFL, apparently Philbin would prefer to chalk it all up to something rather ordinary — like hard work. And fundamentals.

"That's Joe Philbin. He's not going to give you too much," tight end Jermichael Finley said. "He's real plain, straightforward with everything he does. He's just going to stress it on the board every day — what we've got to do to be the best offense in the league."

Indeed, Philbin earns his keep during the week when the Packers prepare for the next opponent. Then, on game day, he advises coach Mike McCarthy, who calls the plays for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the offense.

Together they have directed the Packers to become the first team in the NFL to have, for the last two seasons, a 4,000-yard passer in Rodgers, two 1,000-yard receivers in Greg Jennings and Donald Driver and a 1,200-yard rusher in Ryan Grant.

Last year the Packers also scored a team-record 461 points and committed an all-time-low 16 giveaways.

That last detail — fewest turnovers — is the stat from 2009 that Philbin relishes most.

"You hope coaching makes a difference," Philbin said. "Our position coaches do a great job, and hopefully giveaways is a reflection of one of the things you can control. You can't control everything in a football game, but that, to a great degree, we think you have a lot of control over."

Last year, Green Bay's high-output offense covered 6,065 net yards, third most in team history.

The Packers' total offense has earned a top-10 ranking in all three years Philbin has been the coordinator. Green Bay accomplished all this despite leading the league with 51 sacks allowed — 37 of them in the first eight games — and having, at times, too many dropped passes.

That just took work, and there's no secret formula.

"Joe coaches for perfection," Colledge said. "He preaches accountability and availability and being a smart team and then those things are ingrained in an offense, and you start to hold yourself to your own standards."

Philbin's greatest attribute is his attention to detail, and that was already firmly in place by the time Philbin joined Ferentz at Iowa in 1999. Though the staff took some flak for being a bunch of anonymous guys — Philbin had been at Harvard previously — they knew Philbin was a good coach.

"We weren't exactly big-name guys, myself included," Ferentz said. "I think all of us were confident we could work with Joe because of his level of preparation, his teaching skills and most of all, he's just a tremendous human being.

"He's very thorough. Always prepared. Works extremely hard. Excellent teacher. I'm sure up there he's good with the entire staff. I'm sure he's accepting everyone's input and trying to put the best plan together and not just his plan."

With every starter returning from the previous year, Philbin knows in some respects the pressure is there to not only equal the success but surpass it.

"Yeah, it's a challenge. We told our guys it's not going to be easy," said Philbin. "You set a standard for performance in a number of areas. Now how do we go from 16 to 15, 14, 13 giveaways. And how do we score 30 points a game as opposed to 28?"

Philbin starts at the drawing board. It is his job to educate the offense on the big picture when he installs the offense. Then he turns to the thick book, where he has more than 1,000 plays.

Many of them are drawn up in the off-season. Some of them happen quite by accident — when a receiver runs the wrong way on a route, and the coaches like that curl better. They draw it up and try it out. After that, Philbin draws from all sources to find a good play.

"Sometimes we'll steal from other teams; if they do a particular phase well, we'll look at that," said Philbin. "Sometimes the players have an idea or two. We're not afraid to get an opinion or a suggestion from anybody."

Then Philbin has to prepare, and the Packers have tried something new. Recently during one morning practice, they already started to prepare for the season opener against Philadelphia. The night practice was dedicated to Minnesota. Then the next day, they worked on Seattle in preparation for that exhibition game.

It is an Ivy League study schedule, but the players like it, especially because by the time they play Minnesota and Philadelphia, they'll feel ready.

"I'm a big believer that leadership starts with the example you set," said Philbin. "If you're passionate about what you're doing and you like what you're doing, you can communicate with people; they'll come around, they'll get better, they'll improve. That's a pretty simple philosophy."

And with that, Philbin leaves his role alone. It is almost as if he does his part and then gets out of the way.

"Coaches don't win a lot of games. Players win games," said Philbin. "And if we can help them play sound and play hard for 60 minutes, and if we've got enough talent, we're going to win games."

Receiver let go: The Packers released wide receiver Shawn Gore on Saturday. Gore was signed as a non-drafted free agent in May.