Well…this is new.
In the 100 seasons that the Green Bay Packers have been a franchise, never have they fired a head coach midseason until last Sunday after the worst home loss in 20 years. Losing to a 2-9 Cardinals squad who has not won at Lambeau since 1949 when they were…in Chicago!
Mike McCarthy was relieved of his coaching duties and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin will run the show for four more weeks. You think this would go quietly…oh how naive. Since McCarthy was fired, Twitter has been burning the “immediate hiring” smokestacks of speculation even though it’s DECEMBER. I hear Josh McDaniels or Lincoln Riley’s name one more time before February 2019, I swear.
Kudos to the media for handling their hypocrisy so well. Nothing like turning on Fox Sports One and seeing Colin Cowherd dressed up as Aaron Rodgers. The same host that said last year the following…
“Aaron Rodgers should ask for a trade.”
“Aaron Rodgers is better off without the Packers.”
and my favorite…when he defends Rodgers when Jordan Rodgers badmouths him on Twitter.
What changed here, folks? Calling Rodgers “a drama queen” has become the new hot take trend, of course he deserves some of the blame on how this mess of a season has gone. However, it’s not all his fault. In case you forgot, this coach/quarterback relationship was falling apart already from the front office to the execution on the field.
Did you not watch the Arizona game? The play calling was horrible, the execution was uninspired and Rodgers’ play was showing that. Yeah, he signed a 134 million dollar extension over four years, but just because he is a terrifically tooled quarterback does not mean you can plug in anyone like Ron Wolf did with Brett Favre. If not Robert Brooks, then Antonio Freeman, Donald Driver, Derrick Mayes, Bill Schroeder, Javon Walker, Robert Ferguson…etc. Favre would work with what he has but not everyone is wired like him. I know the truth hurts.
That being said…just win the damn game on Sunday.
I don’t care how you win. Just win. There has been sparks of young talent on this team from rookie cornerback Jaire Alexander, wideout Marquez Valdes – Scandling, third-year back Aaron Jones but it’s time to embrace how much young talent is still on this team ranging from wideouts Jake Kumerow, J’Mon Moore and on defense with rookie corner Josh Jackson, defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster. There is more, but then I would need another page to explain.
The head coaching speculation will continue, the media will latch on this Rodgers “drama queen” take and the Packers are going to miss the playoffs. But, if you beat the inept Atlanta Falcons, a dome team that has far worse problems than the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday in the cold. It is at least a start.
Show this fanbase that there is good reason to why CEO Mark Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst had to fire McCarthy midseason and that there is hope still on the horizon for this franchise going forward.
Just win, baby…okay I’m channeling my inner Al Davis now.
On to Atlanta.
PS: Packers, since you fired Winston Moss, please fire Ron Zook soon.