There was a flurry of
The question remains, who is at fault for the dysfunction and fall of the McCarthy/Rodgers Green Bay Packers?
There are a variety of opinions on this topic. There was a lot of damning information about Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers in the Bleacher Report article. Where there is smoke, there is usually fire.
It is well documented that Aaron Rodgers holds grudges for a long time. To hold a grudge because McCarthy didn’t draft him over Alex Smith? Come on man, he was the offensive coordinator in San Francisco. He wasn’t the Head Coach or General Manager so he doesn’t make the final call. I certainly hope it’s not the offensive coordinators’ decision on who to draft. I put that with the Head Coach and GM. The offensive and defensive coordinators can make their suggestions but ultimately it lies with the Head Coach and General Manager.
The Bleacher Report article states that Rodgers felt McCarthy had a low football IQ. Do I think McCarthy has a low football IQ? No, I do not. Did the game pass him by? I don’t know. Did his offense become stale? It certainly did. He did not make adjustments or evolve the offense.
Does Rodgers freeze our teammates? He most certainly does. He sometimes also plays hero ball, waiting for the deep play instead of taking what the defense gives him and keep moving the chains.
If McCarthy was truly getting massages during team meetings, and his offense was getting stale, than he should have been fired several years ago. If Rodgers was being insubordinate and not a good locker room guy, well you are not going to fire him, but a message should have been sent.
The demise of the McCarthy/Rodgers rests with Ted Thompson. On May 4, 2019, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame will induct Ted Thompson. Rumors are swirling that Ted will not even be at the event due to his health has deteriorated. If his health has gone downhill that fast in a year, then Mark Murphy should have stepped in years before and moved on from Ted.
The past few seasons the Packers did not have locker room leaders or players in the locker room who policed themselves. He was expected that the coaches will do that. Where as, before they had guys like TJ Lang, Josh Sitton, Charles Woodson, B.J. Raji, Julius Peppers, and Donald Driver. Year after Year, Ted let veterans walk out the door and replaced them with rookies. The team kept getting younger and younger with no real veteran presence.
Sure he kept the team in contention for the playoffs every year but that is about it. They did not have the veteran leadership and talent to win a Super Bowl and become a dynasty. Ted left the cupboards bare. He did not provide McCarthy with the tools he needed to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay year after year. He put the fate of the organization in Aaron Rodgers hands without providing him with talent on both sides of the football to win in the playoffs. Often Rodgers was left to play hero to save the day.
If half of the stories in the Bleacher Report are true there was clearly dysfunction in the organization. Mark Murphy should have stepped in sooner instead of worrying about his sled hill. Murphy is the defacto “owner” of the Green Bay Packers. The article states that people across the organization k
Murphy should have sent a message by forcing Ted to fire McCarthy sooner and replacing Ted sooner. By turning a blind eye to all of the issues, he essentially sent the organization back years and failed to help deliver more than one championship to Green Bay. With this much dysfunction going on in the organization, it’s possible that at least one member of the Packers board of directors heard about the issues. So, why didn’t one of them say anything to Murphy to clean-up the house? He reports to them.
One of the most telling quotes from the Bleacher Report article is Murphy tell Rodgers, “Don’t be the problem”, when he informed him who he selected to be the next head coach.
Murphy has seemed to have sent a message to the team. A little too late but hopefully this will turn the organization around. The failure to deliver more than one championship and allow dysfunction rests with Ted Thompson and Mark Murphy.
Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag
8 responses to “Mark Murphy and Ted Thompson at fault for dysfunction in Green Bay”
I think I am going to believe Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers.
I am not going to believe “clickbait specialists” such as Tyler Dunn, Finley, Jennings and their good buddy Colin Cowherd with his unnamed sources.
Their is no accountability in sports reporting, whether it be radio, tv, or social media.
Anybody can use the term “unnamed source” and not be held accountable.
You tell me about any successful Franchise who hasn’t had internal problems and I will call you a liar.
Believe what you want, write what you want.
Just remember at some point knowledgable Packer fans will figure out who is trying to report the news and who is just going for hits on the website.
There is no accountability in any reporting, sports or otherwise. Dunne did sloppy work to advance his own career..
So Murphy says to Rodgers on a private phone conversation “Don’t be the problem” and both deny that was said who else was listening in on the private phone conversation to report it? The only 2 people involved in the conversation say otherwise so how does Dunne come up with that quote? Wire tapping or fictional writing?
I think it came from Murphy. Either he exaggerated his comment to someone, or he told the truth about his comment and betrayed Aaron’s trust by violating confidentiality.
Aaron says the conversation happened but the comment didn’t. To my knowledge , Murphy hasn’t commented. As for Dunne, of all the things he could make up, that comment would be a bizarre creation. Makes no sense.
No, I think the source is Murphy or someone Murphy told. This is on Murphy all the way, and we can be pretty sure Rodgers is furious at him behind closed doors.
This author finally has the guts to say what I’ve been saying for years, but when I said it I was accused of not being a Packer fan. Just like I’m warning Milwaukee Bucks ownership not to pay Middleton Max Money, it will set this team back for a decade ????
This is on Murphy. He has steered this team into a ditch, and the “source” for the “don’t be the problem” quote–whether Murphy said it or not–is almost certainly Murphy or someone to whom he shot off his mouth.
Rodgers has to be furious with Murphy behind the scenes.
There’s no dysfunction in Green Bay. Time to look forward to a successful future.