The Green Bay Packers have fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum, the team announced in a statement on Friday.

As I wrote the day after the collapse in Seattle, somebody was getting fired for the debacle and Slocum was the most likely fall guy.

The Packers have been mediocre at best on special teams for years and it culminated this year in about the worst year a special teams unit could possibly have.  The Packers finished dead last in the Dallas Morning News’ annul special teams rankings and had seven kicks blocked during the regular season.

If that wasn’t bad enough, two critical special teams plays cost the Packers a berth in the Super Bowl. Slocum got outfoxed on a fake field goal that anybody with a little forward thinking could have seen coming. That fake field goal cut a 16-0 lead to 16-7 and gave Seattle life in the game. Also, Brandon Bostick wasn’t on the same page with the rest of the special teams unit when he failed to block his man on the onside kick, and instead dropped the ball that would have ended the game.

Assistant special teams coordinator Ron Zook was not let go by the Packers and seems like a candidate to get promoted. Although, it would make more sense to me to go with an outside guy who had nothing to do with the disastrous special teams unit this season.

“I would like to thank Shawn for all of his contributions over the past nine years,” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. “He was a positive contributor to our success, including helping us win Super Bowl XLV. We wish Shawn, Michelle and their family the best moving forward.”

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Matt Bove is a writer at PackersTalk.com. PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on twitter at @RayRobert9.

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