Official nice things to say about Mike McCarthy thread

[call_me_ishmael]

The Arizona game was lost due to shitty defense. The Seattle game was lost due to a total meltdown by stubby. Call them flukes if you want and it makes you feel better. Just remember there was a reason he was fired, he sucked. That was pretty much proven when no one wanted to hire him.

This isn’t at all true, though. Arizona offered him full control and he rejected them. Cleveland offered him the job but said he had to keep Kitchens. He said no. He’s got young kids and is probably burned out. I’d be choosey about where to work too.

[Vincenzo]

This isn’t at all true, though. Arizona offered him full control and he rejected them. Cleveland offered him the job but said he had to keep Kitchens. He said no. He’s got young kids and is probably burned out. I’d be choosey about where to work too.

And besides, if he coached 13 years for the Packers and averaged $8 million a year, he’s got more money then most of us can imagine. So why would he even need to work any longer. Take a year or 2 off or never coach again. All that stress, who needs it, especially given his brother dropped dead of a heart attack.

[call_me_ishmael]

And besides, if he coached 13 years for the Packers and averaged $8 million a year, he’s got more money then most of us can imagine. So why would he even need to work any longer. Take a year or 2 off or never coach again. All that stress, who needs it, especially given his brother dropped dead of a heart attack.

I agree and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if MM doesn't coach again unless it's for a very premium, cozy job like coach of the Steelers or the Patriots.

[Fritz]

This isn’t at all true, though. Arizona offered him full control and he rejected them. Cleveland offered him the job but said he had to keep Kitchens. He said no. He’s got young kids and is probably burned out. I’d be choosey about where to work too.

I thought I read that Cleveland merely feigned interest, as a gesture of respect for ol' Mike by the Green Bay East crew running the show.

Like you making a halfhearted pass at Drew Barrymore in deference to ol' Fritzy here.

[mraynrand]

I thought I read that Cleveland merely feigned interest, as a gesture of respect for ol' Mike by the Green Bay East crew running the show.

Like you making a halfhearted pass at Drew Barrymore in deference to ol' Fritzy here.

[Rutnstrut]

I thought I read that Cleveland merely feigned interest, as a gesture of respect for ol' Mike by the Green Bay East crew running the show.

Like you making a halfhearted pass at Drew Barrymore in deference to ol' Fritzy here.

Cleveland didn't offer him anything, nor were they ever serious about him. Arizona doesn't count as they are the new Cleveland.

[pbmax]

Cleveland didn't offer him anything, nor were they ever serious about him. Arizona doesn't count as they are the new Cleveland.

Its a much more believable read that Cleveland was backed into hiring Kitchens because there would have been a public and QB revolt had he left the team.

He had too much success to let go. And the QB would have won that battle. Remember, the owner is still Haslam.

[gbgary]

Check out @RobDemovsky’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/RobDemovsky/status/1113228438242983936?s=09
Coming tomorrow on espn.com, I talked with Mike McCarthy in his first interview since he was fired. In a Q&A, he discusses the firing — “It couldn’t have been handled any worse’ — plus Mark Murphy’s complacency claim, his relationship with Aaron Rodgers and more.

[Iron Mike]

Yep, I can't wait:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...zoQ?li=BBnba9I

[red]

Check out @RobDemovsky’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/RobDemovsky/status/1113228438242983936?s=09
Coming tomorrow on espn.com, I talked with Mike McCarthy in his first interview since he was fired. In a Q&A, he discusses the firing — “It couldn’t have been handled any worse’ — plus Mark Murphy’s complacency claim, his relationship with Aaron Rodgers and more.

without the packer organization dictating what we know about everything, and the army a beat writers that the team have under their thumb to protect him, he sure does seem like a giant dickhead

[Joemailman]

without the packer organization dictating what we know about everything, and the army a beat writers that the team have under their thumb to protect him, he sure does seem like a giant dickhead

I suspect you were going to call McCarthy a dickhead no matter what he said.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...handled-firing

Some of what he said:

"It couldn't have been handled any worse. Anytime you lose a close game, it's a difficult time emotionally afterward, but when you lose a home game at Lambeau Field in December, it's really hard. And that hasn't happened very often. I walked out of my press conference, and I'm thinking about the game, thinking about how our playoff shot was now minimal. That's where my head was at. And when I was told Mark Murphy wanted to see me -- and the messenger was cold and the energy was bad. Mark said it was an ugly loss, and it was time to make change. He said something about the offense and the special teams, and he didn't think it was going to get any better. There was no emotion to it. That was hard," he said.


"Every time I released an individual, you get your words right. There's a personal component to it. You know he has a family. He's family. There wasn't any of that. So that was off. The way people leave that building was very important to me. That's a part of the business," McCarthy said. "Hopefully moving forward for guys like Clay [Matthews] and Randall [Cobb] and Nick Perry and Jordy Nelson and T.J. Lang, it's important for them to leave the right way. That way represents the Green Bay Packers standard that I tried to uphold every day."

McCarthy said the exit "really stuck with me for a while."

"It was hard to swallow," he said. "The emotional challenge of shifting from humiliation to reflection was a very important step in seeking clarity so I could personally grow from the experience of my entire Green Bay Packer career; that's what I wanted to get to, not just the ending of it.

[theeaterofshades]

I'd be more than willing to bet that the blow up at the basketball game was not an isolated incident. He likely had displayed such tendencies at work. I am not a huge Murphy fan by any stretch, but I understand being logical, and to the point when firing someone. It should not be an emotional show. He is not there to protect a terminated employee's ego, he is running a business. I was on board with McCarthy for many years, but the time had come. That team gave up on him, and we needed to see if anyone in house could take the reigns. So the last few weeks helped us avoid a hire with in for the HC. I do not have any animosity towards him (outside of the Seattle playoff collapse, and him protecting coordinators for too long), and wish him the best in future coaching jobs.

[pbmax]

That's just the headline, Red. He's a good coach and probably a decent person. He doesn't spend much time blasting anyone else. He even has kind words for Rodgers, who half the state thinks fired the coach.

But I find it ironic that Mr. Silo Straddler (Murphy) isn't any better at bridging gaps than this. Though I have met few people who agreed that they needed to be fired because they were the problem. Everyone always has an angle on it that shifts blame.

My fear is that the inability of the front office to get the coaching staff to move on what needs to change and improve is going to be just as bad tomorrow as its been in the past. And Murphy is not the guy to fix this. The entire coaching search has made this impression on me. I fear they are looking for a savior of a designer, not a person who will adapt to what needs to be done.

[Fritz]

That's just the headline, Red. He's a good coach and probably a decent person. He doesn't spend much time blasting anyone else. He even has kind words for Rodgers, who half the state thinks fired the coach.

But I find it ironic that Mr. Silo Straddler (Murphy) isn't any better at bridging gaps than this. Though I have met few people who agreed that they needed to be fired because they were the problem. Everyone always has an angle on it that shifts blame.

My fear is that the inability of the front office to get the coaching staff to move on what needs to change and improve is going to be just as bad tomorrow as its been in the past. And Murphy is not the guy to fix this. The entire coaching search has made this impression on me. I fear they are looking for a savior of a designer, not a person who will adapt to what needs to be done.

I am afraid that Murphy is ill-equipped to re-focus this organization. Ted Thompson was hired by Bob Harlan and so was already in place as GM when Murphy was named CEO in late 2007 and president in 2008. Murph was smart enough not to rock the boat, but as we've discussed here, he may have waited a bit too long to remove an increasingly frail Ted Thompson from his position.

So here we are, and the pressure is on Murphy now to get this right. He's responsible for hiring both Gutekunst and LeFleur, and this is his first time hiring key positions, so we'll see.

In a different life, I coached boys' ninth-grade high school basketball in Maryland. My mentor, who ran an extremely successful program in Walkersville, taught me that the best coaches adapt to the talent at hand. You don't mold the players to your system; you mold your system to the players' skills. While MM made some feints in this direction, he ultimately just wanted his guys to beat the other guys in individual matchups. And I agree with you PB that Murphy thinks a new scheme will fix the problems, but it's not about that so much as adapting.

[pbmax]

I am afraid that Murphy is ill-equipped to re-focus this organization. Ted Thompson was hired by Bob Harlan and so was already in place as GM when Murphy was named CEO in late 2007 and president in 2008. Murph was smart enough not to rock the boat, but as we've discussed here, he may have waited a bit too long to remove an increasingly frail Ted Thompson from his position.

So here we are, and the pressure is on Murphy now to get this right. He's responsible for hiring both Gutekunst and LeFleur, and this is his first time hiring key positions, so we'll see.

In a different life, I coached boys' ninth-grade high school basketball in Maryland. My mentor, who ran an extremely successful program in Walkersville, taught me that the best coaches adapt to the talent at hand. You don't mold the players to your system; you mold your system to the players' skills. While MM made some feints in this direction, he ultimately just wanted his guys to beat the other guys in individual matchups. And I agree with you PB that Murphy thinks a new scheme will fix the problems, but it's not about that so much as adapting.

Agree on all points.

My sense of Murphy and of Gute is that, except for discerning who the next truly great head coach will be, they see their job as hands off the head coach. But you cannot solve everything through personnel, especially inside a season. The same logic that you just need to make the playoffs to have a chance at a Super Bowl also demands that you should max out in adjusting to get that year's personnel to their maximum performance, regardless of scheme.

To give a coach room and authority is admirable and responsible. But inevitably something will need to change and you have to be able to work together to figure out that change. Belichick just needs to toggle the switch on his head to open communications with his GM.

We won't know until there is an issue with the team. But I get the same old feeling from this arrangement that I got from the worst of Ted and Mike.