EXTRA EXTRA!! McCarthy Extended Through 2015

[RashanGary]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/116282714.html

[MJZiggy]

WoooHOOOOO!!!!~

[RashanGary]

That's actually a pretty good deal at 5 mil. He's clearly in the top 10 of current coaches. He's signing a new deal. It should be higher. On the flip side, Capers deserves a bump too. McCarthy has himself a premium DC. Maybe that extra million McCarthy deserves could be given to Capers. We want to keep the dream team together.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Word.

[SkinBasket]

Maybe he can afford to get that eye fixed now.

[gbgary]

glad to hear it...now that he's figured out the playcalling. http://images.redcafe.net/images/smilies/wink.gif


Maybe he can afford to get that eye fixed now.

hehe

[Freak Out]

He deserved a raise.

[ThunderDan]

Amazing that a coach that can't win close games would get an extension and a pay raise. Must be something else to coaching that we can't come up with but TT can.

[pbmax]

That's a lot of money for someone who can't win close games.


EDIT: Darn you Dan. For stealing my thunder.

[imscott72]

Sweet!! TT and MM together for 5 more years? Hell yea!!

[woodbuck27]

Everyone loves a winner.

$5 Million$ . . . Nice.

GO PACKERS !

[vince]

That's actually a pretty good deal at 5 mil. He's clearly in the top 10 of current coaches. He's signing a new deal. It should be higher. On the flip side, Capers deserves a bump too. McCarthy has himself a premium DC. Maybe that extra million McCarthy deserves could be given to Capers. We want to keep the dream team together.
x2. McCarthy could have gotten more if he pushed harder. The fact that he values all the things that Green Bay and the organization have to offer and it's not just about the money says a lot.

Not to steal McCarthy's thunder, but Thompson is underpaid too, more so than McCarthy IMO. I thought this was interesting in the article.


Some friends of Thompson expressed reservations about just how long he wanted to continue working at his current pace. In September, a friend in the scouting fraternity said he wouldn't have been surprised if Thompson would just ride off back to Texas and take a job for Green Bay or another team as a lowly area scout.

"Ted's in a very secure place financially and knowing who he is and what he wants to do," the source said. "He's a football guy through and through. The thing he doesn't like is all the other (expletive) that goes with it. At some point, sooner than later, he's going to say, 'You know what? I've had enough of it.' "

Thus, Murphy and the Packers' executive committee were said to be overjoyed when Thompson agreed to remain running the football department for at least five more years.

That type of support by Murphy and the executive committee is what keeps a guy like Thompson around. It's about a lot of things for Thompson, but unlike most human beings, by all accounts and appearances the money isn't one of them at this point.

And isn't it ironic that McGinn - the Godfather of the "expletive" that Thompson hates about his job - is now bringing all the love home for him. McGinn's transformation in attitude from just a couple years ago is pretty remarkable, although you can't say the same about his foresight.

[vince]

Regarding McGinn's transformation, awhile back I accused McGinn of saying that the Packers were in their worst state in 20 years. Then I couldn't find the article he wrote. It turns out it was hidden behind the pay-per-view wall of Packer Insider.

Here's McGinn in January, 2009.
http://www.jsonline.com/packerinsider/37689889.html


The Green Bay Packers look as bad right now as they have in almost 20 years, with a head coach fresh off a firing frenzy unprecedented in team history and some of his peers across the league wondering how in the world this could be happening in such a stable franchise.


Is it the beginning of the end for McCarthy? Possibly. He has four years left on a contract that pays him about $4 million per year, but the track record for sitting coaches after they've fired a bunch of assistants and Murphy's aggressive stance aren't suggestive of coaching longevity.


But now the spotlight will be trained squarely on McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson, the man who hired him. And it means more pressure. Canning eight coaches can be compared to painting an old fence. In time, the paint will wear away and the same problems will surface. By and large, head coaches who fire people are looking for ways to escape the heat and beat the reaper themselves.


Several coaches said they'd be leery of McCarthy now because if he fired a bunch of guys once he'd surely do it again. ... When McCarthy fills all his vacancies, there will be happy talk all around. But the bloom is off now. Nobody fires eight coaches without the next finger being pointed at him.

You've come a long way Ted and Mike, in the eyes of so many. You've gone from making the organization look as bad as it has in 20 years to making it look as good as it has in 40 years - all in just 2 short years.

Congratulations on sticking to your guns, seeing what others couldn't, and working hard to make your vision a reality.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Nice! And people wonder why us pro-TT types would like to gloat just a little bit about this Super Bowl victory. Some of us saw that Thompson was on the right track. I think the next five years will prove that even further.

[RashanGary]

Nice! And people wonder why us pro-TT types would like to gloat just a little bit about this Super Bowl victory. Some of us saw that Thompson was on the right track. I think the next five years will prove that even further.

Yep. And those aren't even the worst of the comments. There were others by that guy. He's the king of blowing sunshine up peoples asses after the fact. Now, 6 years later when the team is starting to peak like we said it was. It's young and still has room to grow like we said it would be. He comes marching in like some visionary, blowing sunshine up his readers asses about how it's a possible dynasty in teh making (like he's making some bold prediction). Yeah right, Bob. All of your bold predictions and suggestions were fucking full of shit. For the last 6 years you did nothing but talk about how bad of a track this team was on, how big of a mistake moving on from the ol' lockerroom cancer was and how inept they were from top down. AR can't win playoff games. AR can't win games, he's just a stat collecting loser. AR hasn't shown us much in the way of being a winner. TT's stubborness will ruin this team. McCarthy is looked at like a dumb ass in league circles. F-U. Apologies first, oh writer with the forked tongue.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I love this quote from an article that was previously posted on PR.


"I want people, when they think of this team," linebackers coach Kevin Greene said, "to remember what we've fought through. I think we're one of the toughest teams to ever play in this league."

Who gets the most credit for that? I'd say McCarthy. It was a focus he brought in.


During the season, as the injuries mounted, McCarthy could sense doubt creeping into the bloodstream of his team. So in one meeting, later in the season, he had a message, a very stern one. His message lasted until this day, this great day for Green Bay.

"Mike slapped us in the face," Sitton said. "'Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and let's win some games.' That was all we needed."

[pbmax]

Regarding McGinn's transformation, awhile back I accused McGinn of saying that the Packers were in their worst state in 20 years. Then I couldn't find the article he wrote. It turns out it was hidden behind the pay-per-view wall of Packer Insider.

Here's McGinn in January, 2009.
http://www.jsonline.com/packerinsider/37689889.html

snip

The Green Bay Packers look as bad right now as they have in almost 20 years, with a head coach fresh off a firing frenzy unprecedented in team history and some of his peers across the league wondering how in the world this could be happening in such a stable franchise.
snip

You've come a long way Ted and Mike, in the eyes of so many. You've gone from making the organization look as bad as it has in 20 years to making it look as good as it has in 40 years - all in just 2 short years.

Congratulations on sticking to your guns, seeing what others couldn't, and working hard to make your vision a reality.

Yes, but as always with the smart ones, he is criticizing atmospherics. I bet if you corned him at one of Bedard's Tweetups, asked him to sign his Super Bowl book for you then grilled him about that first quote, he would tell you he was talking about the appearance and reputation of the franchise among his league sources. And that they were commenting strictly about the news that 8 coaches were fired and not the quality of the roster, the QB or the offensive scheme. In other words, a lot of heat signifying little.

He himself said the year prior that deciding what to do about the Bob Sanders led defense had to be one of Thompson's three offseason jobs (Farve and Special Teams or OLine were the others).

I think McGinn generally trusted Thompson more than McCarthy. And firing 8 coaches is newsworthy. But McGinn was just throwing a scare story to build up a simple fact that not since Forrest Gregg had the team had that kind of turnover in coaches. In truth, it was the step that propelled McCarthy to the next level of Head Coaching. He had to surround himself with better assistants. That Packer Update guy had it right: while the departure spoke poorly of his original hires, the fact that he was able to attract a who's who of DCs to interview the next time around meant his reputation (and Thompson) had improved immeasurably by 2009

[3irty1]

I think this shows confidence that football will be played this year. Why give him a raise to sit on his ass all season?

[Guiness]

Regarding McGinn's transformation, awhile back I accused McGinn of saying that the Packers were in their worst state in 20 years. Then I couldn't find the article he wrote. It turns out it was hidden behind the pay-per-view wall of Packer Insider.

Here's McGinn in January, 2009.
http://www.jsonline.com/packerinsider/37689889.html

You've come a long way Ted and Mike, in the eyes of so many. You've gone from making the organization look as bad as it has in 20 years to making it look as good as it has in 40 years - all in just 2 short years.

Congratulations on sticking to your guns, seeing what others couldn't, and working hard to make your vision a reality.

The full text of that article belongs in the garbage can, no doubt!

I don't remember it happening like that...did he can 8 coaches at once? I must've blanked it out! Was that part of the purge when Sanders went? I remember him, Schottenhiemer (thank you!) and one I was a little surprised by, Nunn. Was the strength trainer, Gullickson part of that?

[retailguy]

Yeah, Gullickson got the blame for Justin Harrell. Apparently the free weights did his back in, and Gullickson paid for it with his job.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Yeah, Gullickson got the blame for Justin Harrell. Apparently the free weights did his back in, and Gullickson paid for it with his job.

Link?

[VermontPackFan]

Maybe he can afford to get that eye fixed now.

Eye ?

[HarveyWallbangers]

Eye ?

Lazy eye

[VermontPackFan]

Lazy eye

wow, never noticed...Thanks.

[Guiness]

wow, never noticed...Thanks.

Thanks?

[Guiness]

Yes, but as always with the smart ones, he is criticizing atmospherics. I bet if you corned him at one of Bedard's Tweetups, asked him to sign his Super Bowl book for you then grilled him about that first quote, he would tell you he was talking about the appearance and reputation of the franchise among his league sources. And that they were commenting strictly about the news that 8 coaches were fired and not the quality of the roster, the QB or the offensive scheme. In other words, a lot of heat signifying little.

I don't think Vince is the kind of guy who would corn McGinn. I could be wrong though.

[denverYooper]

wow, never noticed...Thanks.

http://www.garret-dillahunt.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Deadwood-Season-One-0.jpg

[VermontPackFan]

Thanks?

Yes, thanks for clueing me in on MM's alleged lazy eye.

[VermontPackFan]

http://www.garret-dillahunt.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Deadwood-Season-One-0.jpg

DEAD(wood) ON!

[pbmax]

I don't think Vince is the kind of guy who would corn McGinn. I could be wrong though.

Sorry vince if I let some personal information leak out!


Of course, that should be cornered ....

[vince]

The article has been trashed Guiness.

And I'll leave the corning to Skin.

[vince]

Yes, but as always with the smart ones, he is criticizing atmospherics. I bet if you corned him at one of Bedard's Tweetups, asked him to sign his Super Bowl book for you then grilled him about that first quote, he would tell you he was talking about the appearance and reputation of the franchise among his league sources. And that they were commenting strictly about the news that 8 coaches were fired and not the quality of the roster, the QB or the offensive scheme. In other words, a lot of heat signifying little.

He himself said the year prior that deciding what to do about the Bob Sanders led defense had to be one of Thompson's three offseason jobs (Farve and Special Teams or OLine were the others).

I think McGinn generally trusted Thompson more than McCarthy. And firing 8 coaches is newsworthy. But McGinn was just throwing a scare story to build up a simple fact that not since Forrest Gregg had the team had that kind of turnover in coaches. In truth, it was the step that propelled McCarthy to the next level of Head Coaching. He had to surround himself with better assistants. That Packer Update guy had it right: while the departure spoke poorly of his original hires, the fact that he was able to attract a who's who of DCs to interview the next time around meant his reputation (and Thompson) had improved immeasurably by 2009
McGinn is the best and no doubt always leaves himself an out. I don't find such spin persuasive though. Journalists write what they want the news to be and McGinn is no different.

[Tarlam!]

Link?

Widely rumored, never an official statement from the Packers. I remember it vividly.

[RashanGary]

McGinn is the best and no doubt always leaves himself an out. I don't find such spin persuasive though. Journalists write what they want the news to be and McGinn is no different.

McGinn is so persuasive though, that's why I can't stand him. He writes an article without directly saying anything false, yet at the same time you scratch your head and wonder if that false thing he never actually said is really the truth.

[Joemailman]

What I remember is Gullickson making a comment about Harrell "not being in the best shape" or something to that effect, when Harrell was injured. I don't think MM saw it that way. I believe MM talked about morale in the training room being a problem when he fired Gullickson.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Widely rumored, never an official statement from the Packers. I remember it vividly.

I'm guessing mostly speculation and conjecture.

[Iron Mike]

http://blogs.bet.com/news/playahater/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mccarthy.jpg

[Iron Mike]

Maybe he can afford to get that eye fixed now.

He should at least be able to hire someone to clean his neck for him.....

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2011/02/screen_shot_2011-02-07_at_9.53.31_am.jpg

[Freak Out]

Woot.

[pbmax]

I'm guessing mostly speculation and conjecture.

Someone, McGinn (possibly Christl) I believe, had an anonymous quote from a team source that Harrell came back to the off season workouts having let himself get fat and happy and then proceeded to do something dumb while starting to lift weights.

It was pointed out that Gullickson was the logical source for the quote and that he might be engaging in CYA since his job is to prevent players from doing what was reported to have happened. Prior to Favre-A-Palooza, the team did not have a habit of releasing even mildly derogatory comments about players anonymously. I think this line of thinking has been supported by the team's continued support of Harrell and the sacking of Gullickson, though they may not be directly related at all.

Patler pointed out that Harrell supposedly fell completely apart in less than seven weeks. Again, improbable and completely preventable had Gullickson actually witnessed what was claimed to have been the case.

[Fritz]

Speaking of Harrell, looks like he's the lost guy on the roster. MM said, in reference to the d-linemen, that he hadn't really spoken with Harrell and would need to sit down with the guy to see what direction he was going in. Sounds pretty iffy.

Ever since the guy got lambasted as the 16th overall pick, I've been rooting for Harrell and still am. But it sure doesn't sound like he's an integral part of the plan. And he may not even be in the plan. Of course, if there's football, he's still under contract for one more year, so there's no reason (other than some un-healed injurty) not to bring him into training camp and let him compete. IF you draft no d-linemen, and if you get Jolly back, then basically Harrell would seem to be competing with Jarius Wynn for that last spot.

So then the question becomes, how much did Wynn improve? Because if the two duke it out in training camp and Harrell shows more ability, you've got a tough decision to make. It would seem riskier to keep Harrell, but it might be the kind of risk the Packers can afford to take. Even if Wynn did improve, it's not like he's the next Sean Jones.

[Patler]

Further regarding Gullickson, there were numerous printed articles about maximum lift competitions in the weight room. Position groups competed within themselves and against others. Several players talked about it, too, especially for various leg lifts. There was a suggestion in one blog that Harrell hurt his back in one of those "competitions". (Interesting side not - Spitz supposedly was the monster in those competitions for the O-line, and ends up with the same injury as Harrell.) After those articles appeared, the team went out and had a rash of hamstring injuries that year. Player after player missed time with hamstring problems.

Redding said when he first came, and mentions in the JSO article today, that one of his primary functions was to be certain that players didn't overdue the weights they worked with. He mentioned one time that the competitive nature of the players had to be channeled away from maximum lifts and directed toward maintaining functional strength through out a long workout, so they would have the same strength at the end of a game as at the start. I suspect the maximum lift competitions were infrequent under him.

[mraynrand]

Even if Wynn did improve, it's not like he's the next Sean Jones.

Wynn could be taking his fellow teammates to the cleaners, you just never know. And there's always a Bank out there willing to give out a big loan! Fritz, would you care for a job with Jet Landscaping?

[Fritz]

Wynn could be taking his fellow teammates to the cleaners, you just never know. And there's always a Bank out there willing to give out a big loan! Fritz, would you care for a job with Jet Landscaping?


Jet Landscaping? If it means I get to trim Jen Sterger, then sure!

[pbmax]

http://blogs.bet.com/news/playahater/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mccarthy.jpg

If I was a NFC North fan of anyone but the Packers, that would be my avatar. :)

[pbmax]

Further regarding Gullickson, there were numerous printed articles about maximum lift competitions in the weight room. Position groups competed within themselves and against others. Several players talked about it, too, especially for various leg lifts. There was a suggestion in one blog that Harrell hurt his back in one of those "competitions". (Interesting side not - Spitz supposedly was the monster in those competitions for the O-line, and ends up with the same injury as Harrell.) After those articles appeared, the team went out and had a rash of hamstring injuries that year. Player after player missed time with hamstring problems.

Redding said when he first came, and mentions in the JSO article today, that one of his primary functions was to be certain that players didn't overdue the weights they worked with. He mentioned one time that the competitive nature of the players had to be channeled away from maximum lifts and directed toward maintaining functional strength through out a long workout, so they would have the same strength at the end of a game as at the start. I suspect the maximum lift competitions were infrequent under him.

I have a concern similar to those hamstring injuries from this year and its the shoulder issues everyone seemed to have. I hope they have smoked out any possible workout connection before players return for camp/offseason workouts.

[Patler]

I have a concern similar to those hamstring injuries from this year and its the shoulder issues everyone seemed to have. I hope they have smoked out any possible workout connection before players return for camp/offseason workouts.

Ya, I was thinking the same thing.

[Iron Mike]

If I was a NFC North fan of anyone but the Packers, that would be my avatar. :)

Ahem.....

http://totallylookslike.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/aj-hawk.jpg

[KYPack]

Further regarding Gullickson, there were numerous printed articles about maximum lift competitions in the weight room. Position groups competed within themselves and against others. Several players talked about it, too, especially for various leg lifts. There was a suggestion in one blog that Harrell hurt his back in one of those "competitions". (Interesting side not - Spitz supposedly was the monster in those competitions for the O-line, and ends up with the same injury as Harrell.) After those articles appeared, the team went out and had a rash of hamstring injuries that year. Player after player missed time with hamstring problems.

Redding said when he first came, and mentions in the JSO article today, that one of his primary functions was to be certain that players didn't overdue the weights they worked with. He mentioned one time that the competitive nature of the players had to be channeled away from maximum lifts and directed toward maintaining functional strength through out a long workout, so they would have the same strength at the end of a game as at the start. I suspect the maximum lift competitions were infrequent under him.

I heard the same things. Gullickson seemed to come from the "plate head" school of training. Redman is an old time football guy and was brought in to turn around the weight room and train Lovat as his replacement.

Mac started a little slow, but has definitely put his stamp on the staff. I think the GBP has a great coaching staff. ST, I dunno, but maybe Slocum is starting to grow into the job. Seemed like ST improved during the play-offs, but it's still our scariest group.

[vince]

Slocum seemed to do just enough to keep his job. By all accounts, he did a great job with Masthay, and the kickoff and coverage team did have a lot of turnover.

I'm not a fan of the strategy they employed with Crosby and kickoffs with the directional pooch kicks, et al. though. Kick the damn ball deep and cover it like a bunch of crazed kamikazes I say. Your guys have a 30-40 yard running start. They oughta be able to blow up some guys and hit the damn returner around the 20-25 with reliability.

[Joemailman]

Slocum seemed to do just enough to keep his job. By all accounts, he did a great job with Masthay, and the kickoff and coverage team did have a lot of turnover.

I'm not a fan of the strategy they employed with Crosby and kickoffs with the directional pooch kicks, et al. though. Kick the damn ball deep and cover it like a bunch of crazed kamikazes I say. Your guys have a 30-40 yard running start. They oughta be able to blow up some guys and hit the damn returner around the 20-25 with reliability.

I think the directional kicking was an admission of how bad they were at covering kickoffs. Winning the Super Bowl probably saved Slocum. Improving the kickoff coverage has to be the #1 ST goal this year. Hopefully, the turnover due to injuries was a big factor, as that is doubtful to be repeated in 2011.