Green Bay Packers: Belief Growing Mike McCarthy is in Trouble
By Erik Lambert
One of the more fascinating pieces of trivia is that Mike McCarthy is now the second-longest tenured head coach in Green Bay Packers history.
Curly Lambeau was of course tops, having run the organization from 1921 all the way to 1949. Some though might’ve thought it was Vince Lombardi or Mike Holmgren who was next on the list. Nope. That’s McCarthy who now enters his 13th season at the helm for the franchise. It’s rather surprising that he’s lasted this long. A big reason Lambeau and Lombardi went on forever was because they won championships.
McCarthy did win a Super Bowl, but that was eight years ago. Despite his team making the playoffs from 2011 to 2017 and having future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, they’ve never made it back to the big game. Now they’re coming off their first non-playoff season under McCarthy since 2008. Was that all on him? No, but the fact is this organization has grown used to winning.
When that doesn’t happen, somebody will have to take the blame. McCarthy dodged the ax this time, but he may not be so lucky in the near future.
McCarthy is on the hot seat without Ted Thompson umbrella
Somebody had to take the fall for last year and it ended up being GM Ted Thompson, who “chose” to step down. Now the belief is McCarthy is in trouble. ESPN experts were polled about the NFC North and his name came up the most for men who are on the hottest seat coming into 2018.
"“Packers coach Mike McCarthy gets half the votes. For the first time in his 13 seasons as head coach, McCarthy’s boss isn’t Ted Thompson, the person who hired him in 2006. Thompson was pushed aside and replaced by new GM Brian Gutekunst. But McCarthy doesn’t report to the GM anymore. Instead, it’s team president Mark Murphy who makes the call on the coach.”"
Is it possible Murphy retained the rights to hiring and firing the head coach because he feared Gutekunst wanted to make a change? Or is it the other way around and he wants to keep the option open of removing McCarthy despite his having another ally at GM? There’s no way to know for sure. What is know is the rumors have been strong for the past couple years that McCarthy was under ever increasing pressure.
Next: NFL Greatest Unsung Heroes In History of All 32 Teams
The window to getting another championship before Rodgers fades out of his prime years is closing. He can’t be expected to carry the team forever. They have to strike soon. If McCarthy can’t get it done, then they will try to find someone who can.