Packers fire coach Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy has been under fire lately for the Green Bay Packers' struggles. And with the team losing to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Packers decided it was time to go in a different direction.
Just hours after the Packers' loss to the Cardinals, the team decided to part ways with McCarthy. But with the move, the Packers have done something that hasn't been done in the NFL in 46 years. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Packers became the first team since 1972 to fire a head coach before the end of a season after once leading the team to a Super Bowl. The Colts were the last team to do it when they fired Don McCafferty in 1972 after leading the team to a Super Bowl victory in 1970.
McCafferty became the Colts head coach in 1970 and lead to the team to a Super Bowl win that year after finishing the season with an 11-2-1 record in the regular season. In 1971, the Colts finished with a 10-4 record in the regular season and lost to the Dolphins in the AFC title game. In 1972, the Colts got off to a 1-4 start and that led to McCafferty being let go. He was named the head coach of the Lions in 1973 and the team finished with a 6-7 record. He did not return to the Lions next year because he suffered a heart attack the following summer and passed away.
As for McCarthy, he led the Packers to a Super Bowl win in 2010 and they reached the playoffs every year from 2009-2016. During that span, the Packers reached the NFC title game three times but only won the conference title once. Last year was the first season since 2008 the Packers missed the playoffs, finishing with a 7-9 record. And this season, the Packers are now on the verge of missing the playoffs again, losing five of their last six games.
Shortly after McCarthy was fired, Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy explained why the Packers made the decision to fire McCarthy now instead of at the end of the month once the season was over.
“The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately,” Murphy said. “Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field. We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities. We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers.”
McCarthy ended his career with the Packers as the second-longest tenured head coach behind Curly Lambeau. He also had the second-most regular season wins (125) and most postseason wins (10) in Packers history.
Mike McCarthy is out as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. On Sunday evening after the Packers' 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Packers fired McCarthy who has been with the team since 2006. In response to the move, Green Bay decided to make offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as the interim head coach.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy was the one who made the final call and he released a statement shortly after the decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment