Quote Originally Posted by 3irty1 View Post
Couldn't this just be about salary?

MM probably compares himself to guys like Sean Payton or Tomlin who continue to make significantly more money. His contract is finally up and its his turn to get a record deal but he's not going to do it after a turd of a season.
It could be. But that just means the status quo is still 'hot seat'.

M3 might be convinced he is getting a big ticket extension, though it seems very unlikely it happens this offseason (already did one year deal, very new front office and structure will want time to make decisions). He may figure that with Rodgers healthy, his odds are good after another season.

But think of the factors possibly aligned against him. New GM might want total control. Russ Ball also reports to Murphy and what if ol' Russ believes McCarthy cock blocked him from a GM position? Murphy did not bring McCarthy in. Thompson is still there but the new regime helped show Ted the door to a smaller office in Athens, Texas with dial-up access.

Who will want to hitch their wagon to this guy for four more years at any price? I don't think any are eager yet.

So it puts him on the hot seat for next year. If he doesn't deliver big and thinks he should be rewarded big, then he's probably gone.

I still think he is a Top 5 coach. But he is in danger of permanently giving up that ranking. His offense has stagnated and he has not self corrected to defenses figuring it out and for personnel changes at WR. He sticks with horrible performers as coaches for way too long without much success in developing solutions.

My biggest complaint about McCarthy is his inability to self correct his system and staff. He used to be an innovator, but now he seems more like Jeff Fisher, stuck in a mold.

Its a bit unfair to lay the entirety of Thompson/Capers refusal to acknowledge or willful blindness to their methods incompatibility at his feet. But he did have control over half of it and he did very little. Same with reshuffling the deck chairs on the ST Titanic for a decade. Even Zook has only got them to average.

I tend to think McCarthy and Ted are undervalued in fans' minds. But on a basic level (and most recent evidence) it looks like Rodgers is the driver of playoff appearances. To get a new deal, McCarthy will have to beat expectations.

And as hard as it might be to predict, I think expectations are the playoffs. So Mike will need another Championship game appearance or a Super Bowl visit to get a big new deal.