I had a piece all written up discussing if Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is really on the hot seat. But after what the Packers did on the field against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in a 47-25 loss, the whole premise of the article needed to be changed.
Instead of discussing if Mike McCarthy really is on the hot seat, this post will talk about why the Packers need to part ways with McCarthy altogether. I do want to point out, though, that as long as Ted Thompson is the Packers general manager, I don’t think McCarthy is going anywhere.
The Time Has Come for the Green Bay Packers and Mike McCarthy to Part Ways
McCarthy has been the Packers head coach since 2006. In fact, he has been the only head coach that Thompson has hired while the Packers general manager. During this time, McCarthy has put together a very impressive regular season record, 108-60, and has led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship (2010). But to go along with that impressive record is a not so impressive playoff record. During that time, McCarthy has guided the Packers to eight playoff appearances, but he only has a record of 8-7. In those eight games, McCarthy has only won more than one game just once and that was during their playoff run in 2010 when they went 4-0 in the playoffs.
For some franchises, making the playoffs eight times and winning a Super Bowl in an 11-year span would give that coach a lifetime contract. But things are different for the Packers and the reason for that is because McCarthy has had the luxury of having Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as his starting quarterback.
In a league that is driven by the play of the quarterback, McCarthy has been blessed to have two of the best at the position to ever play the game. However, even with that luxury, McCarthy has only won one Super Bowl and excluding that season, he has only led the Packers to the NFC championship two times.
It is a rarity nowadays that an NFL head coach stays employed for the same team as long as McCarthy has. McCarthy has done a solid job during his time in Green Bay, not great, but solid. However, there is a tendency for the program coaches implement to become stale with players starting to tune out what he’s trying to say if he stays around too long. It appears that is starting to become the case for the Packers.
If you need proof, just take a look at the past two games the Packers have played. In their 31-26 loss at home against the Indianapolis Colts, Rodgers came out and talked about how they lacked “juice” during the game. This week, in the first half of their 45-27 loss against the Titans, it appeared that they once again lacked that quality.
Being a head coach in the NFL is very similar to dating somebody. Sometimes the chemistry goes away and you need to part ways. It appears that is the case with the Packers and McCarthy. They had some great times, but it is just time to move on. Especially when the Packers might be able to start a new relationship with what will undoubtedly be a high profile head coach of some sort.
