Two years ago the Green Bay Packers finished 10-6 and won the NFC North title. Last year, they dropped to 7-9 missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Since they were without starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers for most of the 2017 campaign its hard to find fault with that performance. Life in the NFL is brutal, however, and on Sunday the Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy following a 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. That loss dropped the Packers to 4-7-1 and while they\u2019re not officially eliminated from the playoffs they have a very tough road to make the postseason. Should Green Bay fall short it will be the first time they\u2019ve missed the playoffs in back to back seasons since 2005 and 2006.<\/p>\n
Packers\u2019 President Mark Murphy made the announcement just three hours after Sunday\u2019s loss to Arizona. Noting that “the 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers.\u201d he announced that he\u2019d make the \u201cdifficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately.\u201d Murphy did thank McCarthy for his job as a \u201chead coach and leader\u201d for 13 seasons and credited him for the team enjoying \u201ca great deal of success on and off the field\u201d. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately,” Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement. “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.\u201d The on-field success includes 9 playoff appearances, 4 trips to the NFC Championship game and a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a conventional wisdom that it\u2019s a \u2018slap in the face\u2019 to fire a NFL head coach during the regular season. That may be true in most cases, but specific to this situation it might be a tactical move that is advantageous to both McCarthy and the Packers. It gives the Packers a chance to evaluate interim head coach Joe Philbin as well as to get a head start on vetting the other available coaching options. It also gives McCarthy a chance to be considered for coaching jobs that will open up after the end of the season. There\u2019s also been talk that he might be a candidate to replace Hue Jackson as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n