A network device of a communication network is configured to implement coordinated scheduling and processor rate control. In one aspect, packets are received in the network device and scheduled for processing from one or more queues of that device. An operating rate of a processor of the network device is controlled based at least in part on at least one of an arrival rate of the packets and a number of the packets stored in the one or more queues. As one example of processor rate control based on packet arrival rate, the operating rate of the processor may be controlled by accumulating a designated number of the received packets, determining an average arrival rate of the accumulated packets, and setting the operating rate of the processor based on the average arrival rate.