Posted on 12/03/2018 11:46:19 AM PST by Red Badger
(Reuters) – The Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy on Sunday, ending his 13-season tenure in charge of the storied National Football League (NFL) team.
McCarthy guided the Packers to a fourth Super Bowl triumph in the 2010 season and the franchise won their division six times and made the playoffs nine times under his command.
However, a 20-17 home loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals on Sunday proved to be the final straw in a disappointing season for the Packers, who look set to miss the playoffs.
McCarthy’s axing also comes amid reports of tension between the 55-year-old and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
McCarthy was Green Bay’s play caller and his approach has been criticized as overly conservative, failing to get the best out of Rodgers, a two-times NFL most valuable player.
The quarterback hinted at discord in October after a 22-0 win over Buffalo when he said the Packers had been “terrible on offense”.
Team president Mark Murphy said it was time for a change.
“The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers,” Murphy said in a statement after Sunday’s defeat, their fifth in six games, saw them fall to 4-7-1.
“As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately.”
Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was named interim head coach.
McCarthy departs with a record of 125 wins, 77 losses and two ties.
“Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field,” Murphy added.
“We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers.”
McCarthy has been coaching in the NFL for 25 years, starting as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs before moving to the Packers as quarterbacks coach in 1999.
He later had stints as offensive co-ordinator with the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers before taking the head coach job at the Packers in 2006.
The rumor here in the NYC sports media is that Harbaugh leaves Michigan and takes the Jets job after this season.
I think Aaron Rodgers is 35 - how much longer does he think he’ll be around??? 2-3 years?
As a LIONS fan, we’re used to losing, an 8-8 season, missing the playoffs, is the norm for our coaches. Sure, they eventually get fired after a few seasons but this guy has had a lot of success, including a Superbowl. Having one bad year is enough to get fired?!?!? If Aaron is part of the reason then he deserves to get his too...
...seems as though the wheels have come off, time for many years languishing...welcome to the club.
Another reason to dislike Rodgers
The magic was gone. I was time for a big change. They recently brought in a number of new assistant coaches. They also got rid of some players who had become distractions/problems. The GM is relatively new. There was only one change left: Head coach.
McCarthy controlled the offense and his play design/calling was unimaginative. The Packers as a team too often looked poorly prepared this year.
That said, I hope McCarthy gets a fresh opportunity in a new environment. He deserves that.
It’s not the talent on the sidelines, it’s the talent on the field............He will have a new gig quickly...............
And Marvin Lewis still has another year on his contract with Mike Brown’s Bengals.
McCarthy had a great record but his Packers have also had a few major playoff disappointments during his tenure. They lost to the Giants in both of the NYG Super Bowl years (2007 and 2011) ... with the latter coming after a Green Bay 15-1 regular season.
Okay, let’s say they get a new coach and next year is the same story. It wasn’t the coach.
Jack Del Rio was coach of the Jags, had a horrid record.
They fired him and hired a new coach. Next year same story.
Jack Del Rio went to Denver as a Defensive coordinator and got a Super Bowl ring with Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
Then he went to the Oakland Raiders and had a horrid record, again got fired.
It ain’t the coach.................
And we Denver Broncos fans thank you very much.
Will probably get renewed...................
Green Bay has lost 5 of their last 6 games. They are 4-7-1 for the year.
Get in line!
Take a knee Aaron....
IMHO - the most important part of any team is the O and D lines. We had Barry Sanders for a decade, did we build an O-line around him? Nope. How many times has Matt Stafford been sacked or hurried this year? It hasn’t changed. Expecting a coach or QB to be some “magic winning position” is incredibly naive. I’ve marveled at how long Aaron gets to throw the ball - but this seems to have changed lately.
The game is about having talent at all positions that is, on average, higher than that of your opponents. It’s almost impossible to be A LOT higher, considering the way the league is structured....but you CAN put emphasis on the lines, without them it doesn’t matter what “superstar” QB or RB you have - unless it is Barry Sanders who was not human! ;)
Thanks for info. On old defunct NFL teams. Green Bay was the only smaller city to keep a team.
I think this year is the Packers 100th anniversary.
Yep.
The NFL loves to recycle names.
Giants, Panthers, Cowboys, Browns, Titans, Buccaneers, Lions, Texans are all recycled names................
All the new coach will have to do is not call woosie over conservative plays. McCarthy spent too much time coaching to not lose, if he’d coached to win Rodgers would like him, he’d have one more ring, and a job.
I dunno. The Jets job is a bigger coach-killer than Aaron Rodgers.
It’s not just one bad year. It’s a pattern of going overly conservative, not utilizing the talent he has available, and losing at big times. The fact is they should have fired him after losing the NFC championship to Seattle, up over 20 points and going to three runs and a punt for most of the second half, to lose the game in the waning seconds. When you have one of the best QBs in the league use him. McCarthy lost a lot of leads. Rodgers got quite a few back because 2 minute drills are run by the QB. But they never should have been lost in the first place, throw the damn ball, get some first down, keep the lead.
that one is close.
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