A reminder how much better off we are...

[jdrats]

From post-practice presser according to GBPG:

McCarthy has an appreciation for Packers’ history, including some memorable media moments. When a phone range during his post-practice press briefing, he said: “Is this where I’m supposed to flip out with the phone?” It was a thinly veiled reference to the 2005 incident in which McCarthy’s predecessor, Mike Sherman, cut short a press conference because a phone rang and then had quarterback Brett Favre’s press conference for later that day canceled after the owner of the phone refused to come forward.


Literally, had me laughing out loud--just thought I'd share.

[Iron Mike]

He's moved on to his singing career:

[RashanGary]

MM has to be one of the top 5 coaches in the league right now. Talent helps though. As far as him bringing something special. He coaches the QB, seemingly as well as anyone. That's a nice bonus.

Unlike MM though, Sherman was doing two friggin jobs; two jobs that both are far more than 40 hour a week jobs. Down the stretch, Sherman just looked tired. MM does at times, but for the most part, I think he has the time to take care of himself (eat, sleep, those kinds of things. . . )

[Pugger]

Sherman always looks tired and pissed. He had the same demeanor on the sidelines at Texas A & M when he only had the one job.

[Patler]

Mostly, MM appears confident and relaxed in games, press conferences and interviews.
Mostly, Sherman appeared unsure and hurried.

[KYPack]

Give MM an A for his game time demeanor.

Harlan says that the one thing that made him and the Exec Committee aware that Shermy couldn't handle both jobs was the McKenzie situation. Shermy became obsessed with MM's (the player) holdout and it caused him to be unprepared for a ball game. Harlan then began conversations with the EC to relieve Sherm of the GM gig.

[pbmax]

Mostly, MM appears confident and relaxed in games, press conferences and interviews.
Mostly, Sherman appeared unsure and hurried.

Give MM an A for his game time demeanor.

Harlan says that the one thing that made him and the Exec Committee aware that Shermy couldn't handle both jobs was the McKenzie situation. Shermy became obsessed with MM's (the player) holdout and it caused him to be unprepared for a ball game. Harlan then began conversations with the EC to relieve Sherm of the GM gig.

Its a striking difference and made all the more interesting because Sherman was able to win a lot of games while seeming to struggle a lot. My impression of Sherman was that he always made it personal with the team and its performance. Tales abound of impassioned pleas from him to the team after a sluggish early season start (more than once) to take the job and the opportunity as seriously as he did; to cherish it as much as he did. The players responded, but emotional appeals only last so long. At times he seemed to know no other way.

With McCarthy, and especially with Thompson, you seem to sense that the weight of expectations in this regard has been transferred more to the players. And they seem to respond more consistently.

[Upnorth]

Mostly, MM appears confident and relaxed in games, press conferences and interviews.
Mostly, Sherman appeared unsure and hurried.

Except during combines,

[Guiness]

I'll never, never understand why they gave Sherman both jobs.

I thought they pretty much lost Holmegren because of their refusal to give him the GM duties, and he was an SB winning coach. Why did they give it to a coach coming off his rookie season???

The only thing I can figure is that the exec knew they lost Holmegren because they wouldn't give him the dual duties (that and I assume Seattle threw a lot of $$$ at him), they figured it was the wave of the future and if they didn't give it to him, they'd lose him as well.

[jdrats]

I'll never, never understand why they gave Sherman both jobs.

I thought they pretty much lost Holmegren because of their refusal to give him the GM duties, and he was an SB winning coach. Why did they give it to a coach coming off his rookie season???

The only thing I can figure is that the exec knew they lost Holmegren because they wouldn't give him the dual duties (that and I assume Seattle threw a lot of $$$ at him), they figured it was the wave of the future and if they didn't give it to him, they'd lose him as well.

From what I understand it wasn't so much a refusal to give Holmgren both jobs as it was that Wolf had no plans to retire at that time.

As to both jobs to Sherman, I read some place fairly recently that it was Wolf's call. He recommended the idea to Harlan, and that was enough for Harlan.

In hindsight, it was clearly a mistake by Wolf. And somewhat ironically tied to an earlier Wolf mistake: not paying a big contract to Hentrich. Wolf has said he just couldn't see paying a million dollars to a kicker. However, had he wrapped Hentrich up way back when not only would we have avoided a long line of mediocre punters we would have never had to watch the train wreck of Sherman trading up for a punter, and worse yet, carrying two on the roster.

All of which makes me very happy to have heard McCarthy say he has no interest in becoming a GM, all he wants to do is coach.

[pbmax]

Harlan has said that they had no idea that Wolf was going to retire and would have possibly offered the job to Holmgren had it been apparent. Though he has also maintained that he became convinced after Sherman that his notion that the job was too big for one person was reinforced.

He only relented because he knew a new GM would find it difficult to work with an existing coach.

[Guiness]

Wolf's retirement was that sudden and unexpected? That was in the days before I followed so much of the non-field related activities of the Pack, so I don't really know the story.

I was going to add to my post that you'd think they'd have a candidate in house being groomed instead of handing it over to a guy that two years earlier was a TE coach.

[Patler]

Wolf's retirement was that sudden and unexpected? That was in the days before I followed so much of the non-field related activities of the Pack, so I don't really know the story.

I was going to add to my post that you'd think they'd have a candidate in house being groomed instead of handing it over to a guy that two years earlier was a TE coach.

It was quite unexpected. He was only 62 at the time, and not long before that had said he had no plans for retiring. He implied once that the 1999 and 2000 seasons really made him think more and more about retiring, because he knew his team had weaknesses, but it was more and more difficult to fix the roster in the way he was accustomed to doing it. He liked to identify a need and fix it in FA or by trade, and that was getting more and more difficult in the changing NFL.

Wolf didn't take the long range view to roster building that TT does, In some ways, the NFL was moving past him. He recognized it and got out.

[Pugger]

Didn't Harlan once say when he took over as team president he felt the two jobs should be separate and that was one of the reasons he felt the Packers struggled all those years? Too bad he didn't listen to his own advice. Thankfully he saw the errors of his way and hired TT.

[swede]

It was quite unexpected. He was only 62 at the time, and not long before that had said he had no plans for retiring. He implied once that the 1999 and 2000 seasons really made him think more and more about retiring, because he knew his team had weaknesses, but it was more and more difficult to fix the roster in the way he was accustomed to doing it. He liked to identify a need and fix it in FA or by trade, and that was getting more and more difficult in the changing NFL.

Wolf didn't take the long range view to roster building that TT does, In some ways, the NFL was moving past him. He recognized it and got out.

That is a good observation. Wolf has mentioned several times that he would find it difficult to GM given current cap constraints.