Packers fire Mike McCarthy after loss to Arizona
Mike McCarthy was fired as the Packers’ head coach after a 20-17 home loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals.
While I totally expected McCarthy to be gone after this season, I was somewhat surprised by the timing of the move, even though my opinion was that the team should fire him on Monday morning should the Packers lose to Arizona. Turns out, they didn’t even wait until Monday or even until the end of the late-afternoon slate of Sunday games.
Losing at home to a 2-9 team that is dead last in both rushing and passing offensively, especially when you are almost a two-touchdown favorite, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The bottom fell out. They likely weren’t going to make the playoffs anyway, but there is no excuse for the performance that we saw out there vs the Cardinals. Joe Philbin will be the interim head coach for the last four games. Do I expect Philbin to be any better? I don’t know if he will, but we needed some kind of accountability. Maybe the players will show some life out there with a new voice these last four games.
McCarthy was hired in 2006, back when Brett Favre was still the quarterback. The two enjoyed some success together, reaching the NFC Championship game in McCarthy’s second year. After Favre “retired” in 2008, McCarthy inherited Aaron Rodgers. Despite any success the two had together, they were only able to win one Super Bowl. That frustrated many Green Bay Packer fans, and some of us were calling for McCarthy to be replaced years ago.
Now that he is finally gone, where do we go from there? They aren’t going to make the playoffs this year, no matter what the “math” says, but I want the team to go out there and give a great effort these last four games. Mark Murphy was the only one who could fire McCarthy, but I think that Brian Gutekunst should be the one with the authority to hire the next coach and to fire him if necessary. There are many names thrown out there as far as the potential next head coach, but the team needs to do its homework and not zero in on just one guy or a small handful of guys. Aaron Rodgers will obviously not make the final decision, but he deserves to have his voice heard during this process.
Another thing I want to see is an evaluation of this roster. Although the roster doesn’t lack some good talent, many of us totally overestimated what they have on this team. Only a small handful of players are what I would consider “safe”. Everyone needs to be put on notice.
For the record, I take no pleasure whatsoever in calling for people’s jobs. It is always a tough thing to let someone go, but this is a business. Besides, if any of us were working for a company and were considered a liability, we should expect to be fired. It’s no different with the Packers or any other team. McCarthy will be just fine. He might even get another coaching job next season, possibly with the Cleveland Browns. We had a lot of great moments as Packer fans with McCarthy as the head coach, and down the road, I’m sure many of us will appreciate the good times we had with him. For now, it’s time to turn the page.
It has been a trying season for us all, but I remain optimistic. I don’t think we are far away from competing for a championship, but it will take a lot of work by this front office to bring this team back to excellence. For me, this season can’t end soon enough. I just hope that the team will compete and end this season on a high note and give us some kind of hope heading into 2019. Take care Packer fans. I see better days ahead.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
