Hot Seat in GB Narrative Takes Hold

After another embarrassing display by GB on Sunday, Monday’s headlines renew the fervor suggesting the seats are getting scorching hot for both Mike McCarthy (MM) and GM Ted Thompson (TT).

Sporting News (“Packers’ problems begin, but don’t end with MM”)

Something is amiss in Green Bay. While responsibility lies with the entire organization when things are so out of sync, the Packers’ coaching staff is the biggest issue for this underachieving team.  And it might not be a quick fix.

SB Nation (“The Packers should fire MM”)

It’s unusual for a head coach with seven straight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl ring to wind up on the hot seat, but McCarthy’s Packers have been a sigil for underachievement in recent years. Since winning a Super Bowl after the 2010 season, McCarthy has gone 3-5 in the postseason, advancing to the NFC title game just once.

Journal Sentinel (“Packers’ crisis jeopardizes jobs”)

The Green Bay Packers officially are in a crisis.  How do you view them any other way after the Tennessee Titans blew them off the Nissan Stadium field on Sunday? 

As for where the Packers go from here, there’s nothing for the players to say. They gave the standard answer — just go back to work and try to get better. But at this point, rhetoric is empty. All that matters is what they show on the field.  And if that doesn’t get better fast, there’s no telling what changes the offseason might bring, even to a franchise that prides itself on stability.

Bleacher Report (“VIDEO: Packers must end McCarthy era…”)

NFL.com (“Packers latest loss has McCarthy, Rodgers at a crossroad”)

Is Green Bay an ultra-talented team that’s merely taking a short sabbatical before mounting a late-season charge? Or has the McCarthy/Rodgers era reached a crisis point from which the Super Bowl-winning coach and two-time MVP quarterback might not recover? Most likely, the answer lies somewhere in between those two extremes. However, that won’t stop the skeptics from suggesting that Rodgers has slipped from the ranks of the league’s elite quarterbacks (as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob McGinn did last month) and that McCarthy could or should be fired if the Pack’s downward trajectory continues this season.

Yahoo Sports (“It looks like MM time in GB has run out”)

The Green Bay Packers aren’t big on changing head coaches.  Since 1992, the Packers have had four coaches. They quickly admitted a mistake on Ray Rhodes and dumped him after one season. The other three coaches – Mike Holmgren, Mike Sherman and Mike McCarthy – combined to lead the Packers for 24 seasons.  Even though it would come as a culture shock in Green Bay, it’s time for a new head coach. When we look back on McCarthy’s 11 Packers seasons, there will be many fond memories, including a Super Bowl. But if this is McCarthy’s final season, we’ll remember Sunday as the day it was clear he’s not the right guy for the Packers job anymore.

ESPN (“Apathetic performance adds to pressure on McCarthy, Capers, Thompson”)

How could coach Mike McCarthy and Rodgers let this happen? Especially after the coach said “that’s not even a concern of mine” and Rodgers promised this past week to “make sure that our guys are ready to play and we’re enthusiastic about it and fired up to be out there.”  At this point, it’s hard to find much the Packers (4-5) can rally around. Maybe they’ll take solace in the Minnesota Vikings’ fourth straight loss and the jumbled NFC North that no one can take control of. The idle Lions moved into a first-place tie with the Vikings at 5-4. But that kind of loser’s mentality can’t erase the showing the Packers put on display and on film for the rest of the NFL on Sunday afternoon.

CBS Sports (“Once preseason Super Bowl favorites, Packers are NFLs biggest flop”)

Who the hell are these Green Bay Packers? They are a mess, and after getting blown out in Tennessee by the Titans on Sunday they are also under .500 at 4-5. Can this really be the preseason Super Bowl favorite with the game’s best quarterback? They hardly resemble even a playoff team now, which is why the questions about coach Mike McCarthy’s job status are now in play. This team is in big trouble, so much so that you have to wonder if they can turn it around.

Fansided: NFL Mocks (“TT now join GB Packers hot seat”)

The offense gets off to terrible starts and the defense suddenly is giving up over 30 points per games. Nothing about this makes any sense for a team that is among the youngest in the league and hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2008. Is Rodgers losing his edge? Is Mike McCarthy finally starting to lose his grip on the team? It’s a big reason both of them are being called to task by the local Wisconsin media.

There is still time for the Packers to right this ship, but if this slide continues then it’s time to wonder what the future holds for the 63-year old executive.

Houston Herald (After Week 10, which head coaches are safe and who may be on the hot seat?”)

Could McCarthy really be in trouble? We don’t think so, but some pretty good sources keep telling us we’re wrong. The fact is the Pack have dropped four of their last five, three straight, including the last two to Indianapolis and then Tennessee in a rout Sunday and they do not appear to be responding to McCarthy right now. It would be very un-Ted Thompson like to pull the plug on McCarthy, but after the Packers came out clearly flat and seemingly uninterested versus the Colts a week ago Sunday, Aaron Rodgers appeared to call out both his teammates and coaches and they came out even flatter in Tennessee.

 

ProFootballTalk, November 7, 2016 (“Ugly home losses, lack of ‘juice’ put MM firmly on the hot seat”)

Packers fans may soon be longing for the days of unfulfilled postseason expectations. With a pair of consecutive losses and a 4-4 record through half of the season, the Packers may not get a chance to underwhelm in this year’s playoffs.  And if that happens, coach Mike McCarthy may not get a chance to extend his run in Green Bay to 12 seasons.

The Big Lead, November 6, 2016 (“MM should be on the hot seat now”)

Nevertheless, there comes a time when a coach’s message grows stale, and it’s very conceivable that this has arrived with McCarthy in Green Bay. The Rodgers/McCarthy marriage is not thriving. If one man has to go between a star quarterback and the head coach, it must be McCarthy.

Fair or not, the Packers have a standard in this window where it is disappointing if they don’t win the Super Bowl, or at least reach it. If they don’t get there this season, it is my opinion that it’s time to shuffle the deck with the coaching staff.

 

The Acme Packing blog looks at potential head coaches GB could target if MM is axed including Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Atlanta OC Kyle Shannahan.