Packers Fire Head Coach Mike McCarthy After Loss to Cardinals
After an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals by a final score of 20-17, the Green Bay Packers have fired head coach Mike McCarthy after almost 13 seasons with the team. At 4-7-1, the playoffs look like a pipe dream for the Packers but not totally out of the question just yet. In a season where there has been disconnect between McCarthy and franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers, something had to give and it obviously was not going to be the recently extended Rodgers. Unless Green Bay gets tons of help and wins out, this will be the first year the Packers miss the playoffs with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback when he is not dealing with a major injury.
At the end of it all, Mike McCarthy finished his coaching tenure in Green Bay with a record of 127-77-2 as well as 10-8 in the playoffs. McCarthy was at the helm for the team back in 2010 when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers and has coached Rodgers throughout nearly his entire career with the exception being his rookie season. With a few other NFL coaches on the hot seat this year and the Cleveland Browns already in search of a new coach, there should be plenty of opportunities for McCarthy to get another shot as the head coach of a team if not a coordinator position. Replacing the 55-year-old as the interim head coach will be offensive coordinator Joe Philbin who spent three-plus season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2012-2015 and compiled a record of 24-28 in that time. Philbin held the offensive coordinator position for nine years prior to his stint in Miami before returning to the position for this season.
In a statement, Packers President Mark Murphy said, "The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately." Murphy then went on to express his appreciation for McCarthy in saying, "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. We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities. We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers."
Following the loss to the Cardinals, McCarthy was asked about being in this unusual position of being on the verge of elimination from playoff contention with four games to play. McCarthy responded, "I mean, I've never been in this spot, I'm not going to act like I know what the hell I'm going to do tomorrow when they get in here. So we're going to do what we always do: We're going to represent the Packers the right way, I know that. Other than that, we'll focus on what's in front of us." Little did he know the unemployment line would be in front of him, but the accolades and success he had as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers are not soon to be forgotten.
As it stands with the Packers sitting at 4-7-1, it is inevitable they would have to win out to have a remote chance at a playoff spot. They currently sit behind the Vikings, Panthers, Eagles, and Buccaneers in the playoff hunt as the Redskins own the sixth and final playoff spot at 6-5. Washington plays tonight against the Eagles for Monday Night Football in a big divisional matchup. The leadership of Aaron Rodgers will have to be on full display over the next four weeks and even though the Packers will likely not make the playoffs, they can gain some momentum heading into next season if they win out or perform better on offense than they have all season long.
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