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The shakeup is not yet over at 1265 Lombardi, but unlike Dom and Ted, head coach Mike McCarthy has been left standing.

Prior to the 2017 season, many, including the man himself, were convinced Mike was a "highly successful NLF coach" with particular expertise as an offensive genius/QB guru.

After the 2017 season, many look at his 5-10-1 record (a full NFL season) without Aaron Rodgers starting at QB since 2013 and wonder if Mike's success is mostly due to having Hall of Fame QBs leading his teams every season. His reputation as a QB whisperer was particularly damaged by the play of Brett Hundley (2 shut outs, at home) whom Mike was adamant he was comfortable with after Aaron went down and who had been in Mike's "system" for 3 years.

As of today, Mike has fired his long, long, long time defensive coordinator Dom. He also sent defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and the inside linebackers coach packing. QB coach Alex Van Pelt is also gone, while the (alleged) offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett is either being reassigned or is gone. More coaching departures are likely.

In addition, Mike's longtime "partner" as he referred to Ted Thompson yesterday, is no longer the GM. Even with that partner in place, Mike only received a bare minimum 1-year extension, hardly a strong vote of confidence from upper management.

All of these developments inevitably lead to the question of what does the future hold for Mike and the Green Bay Packers? After gutting his coaching staff, will the new GM "fit" with Mike (a term and subject he brought up multiple times during his press conference yesterday) and will Mike coach the Packers to a highly successful season in 2018?

Or, if the Packers do not make a deep run next season, will the spotlight be turned uncomfortably on the head coach?

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I still believe and will continue to believe is that MM is indeed a solid/very good NFL coach.  I just don't believe that over night he forgot how to coach. I think what he was up against was horrendous defensive coaching and a thin roster decimated by injuries.  Could he have handled the Hundley situation differently absolutely and he gets no pass from me on that one.

I think a lot of people are reading in to the only one year extension MM was given until 2019.  We don't know what is going on there perhaps MM only wants to coach that long or the organization didn't want to invest more we just don't know.

I personally believe in the near term and for the longer term future begins and ends with a defensive improvement.  Whether that is through coaching or with defensive players it doesn't matter because unless they improve that D they aren't going far.

Last edited by "We"-Ka-Bong

Agree with this. The reason GB hasn't won more Superb Owls since 2010 has so much more to do with defensive failures than O problems. To just get to the playoffs for eight years in a row is an accomplishment that many coaches would love to have on their resume. Dom's D has let MM and the team down far more than it should have, and MM is to blame for keeping Dom around that long. And yes, he's to blame for not pulling the plug on Hundley (unless TT put his foot down and told MM that he would not sign a veteran and to do the best with what he had). There's no reason to think that MM could not continue being successful with a better D.

If he can work with the new GM or not is an entirely different matter, and we'll find out soon enough.

Last edited by "We"-Ka-Bong

You may be on to something.

I just saw some very interesting excerpts from McGinn article that talk about Mike having a strained relationship with Ball over Ball's support for the Pack's general avoidance of adding veteran talent to the roster.

"Sources have said there were times in recent years that McCarthy was livid the front office didn’t take a more aggressive, diverse approach toward getting him players. One friend speculated that his apparent falling out with Ball might have been over the Packers’ player procurement practices.

“Are we doing everything we need to do to win a championship?” McCarthy said Thursday. “That question needs to be answered. It needs to be answered throughout football operations.”

Last edited by "We"-Ka-Bong
michiganjoe posted:

Andy Reid was still a good football coach when the Eagles got rid of him. Sometimes the shelf life expires, the message gets stale and it's time to make a change. Be very interesting to see how it plays out with MM. 

I believe there Is such a thing as players being tone deaf to the coach when they’ve heard him, over, and over.    

I just read Bad Bob's article about MM's future.  Bob always has some impeccable insights and this time I think he giving his readers a few good possibilities to think over.

If you re-listen MM's comments when he was interviewed by Larry McCarren this past Monday...MM sounded tired and worn down.  But when asked about his one-year extension his became more so and somewhat deflated in the words he chose.  I think his time in GB has gotten old and stale.  This year's team failed on so many fronts as did his teams over the past several years.  And while we can point to specific coaches for accountability, the bottom line is it is MM's responsibility to correct the problems.  And beside that, we saw some questionable offensive strategies too.  Lack of commitment to the run game.  Then when Rodgers came back and while he threw some marvelous passes, he also threw some bad ones.  I later read that QB coach Van Pelt said something to the effect "we knew Aaron might have trouble throwing certain routes"...???...and yet plays were called that offered Rodgers the opportunity to try and throw those deep patterns or passes out to the flat.   So who called those plays?  Why were those play even in the plan?   How about some of #30 running the ball?  And there is Hundley...while he played some good quarters, he basically was mediocre or stunk most of the time.

After reading McGinn's write-up today and thinking over things, I feel there is still only a 50/50 chance MM is back with the Packers next season.  And he might be only if you consider how the Packers would look foolish to release him and then see him on the far sideline wearing Bear black or Lion blue...yuk.

As for Aaron Rodgers being less-than thrilled with the thought of Russ Ball as GM, that's pure speculation as far as I am concerned.  

Most of us are probably luke-warm on the idea of Ball taking over.  We'd rather have a big shiny glamorous choice who will bring energy, flash and change into the Packers front office.  I get it.  We like Eliot Wolf because of his dad.  Gutekunst is an unknown bet too.  Ball may be more of a similar style to TT.  Who knows?  I just want the best guy.  Rodgers will be happier than heck if Ball gets the GM job and surprises everyone by not being a TT clone and the Packers get back to winning.

Oh well, guess only time will tell and we'll have to wait until next week.

slowmo posted:

Gosh, Murphy could hit the trifecta--fire the GM, push out the coach, and piss off the franchise QB.  Ball must be one special guy, if that's the case.

Sounds like if Murphy hires Ball as GM...he himself will be terminated within 12 months

Bukkake Princess posted:

 Soft, gooey, and lazy-eyed  

Sounds like the Chocolate Chip cookie I'm eating

Jaymo posted:
slowmo posted: I forgot, how did his first playoff game (at home) go?

They lost!  Does that make you feel better about losing 4 out of the last 5 and missing the playoffs?

Nope, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything in the Vikings quest to continue to have zero championships in their 56 year history.

Last edited by slowmo

It has been my belief that the tragic loss of MM's younger brother has never been shaken - I'm not saying it should be either. But MM's legacy is on the line now as this past season cast doubts on some of those accolades he's been given. It really is up to MM in my opinion, is he going to put in the effort to be flexible and creative like he has shown, or is he going to take an easier route and remain stubborn and predictable as he has been of late? I think he will rise to the occasion. There is a lot of pride on the line in GB now, and I don't think AR12 and MM want to see mediocrity in GB on their watch. I'm thinking if MM stays in GB, he and AR12 will find a way to rekindle that magic. I also hope the defense gets mad - coaches and players. They must change the soft label placed on this unit the past SEVERAL seasons.

Listening to the Wilde & Tausch podcast, the most interesting part was Wilde saying that MM has never felt "appreciated" in GB. Heard George Raveling (no great coach, but) say in a clinic 35 years ago; "two things that everyone has in common, we all want to be loved & appreciated". MM is in a no win situation with the appreciation. If he wins it is because of AR, if he loses it is all his fault. This sentiment  reached a peak this season. The roots of his family & his salary may be the only things keeping him here. 

Maybe instead of naming a street for McCarthy, we should name a city after him instead?   Then maybe his feelings wouldn't be hurt so much.  OK, bad joke.

I like McCarthy and he is a good coach, but geez, I am surprised at his insecurity.  ALL coaches in the NFL take criticism.  Even Belicheat has a certain amount of detractors.  If he's that insecure about it, maybe he should try to coach somewhere else and see what it is like.

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