Packers Offer Job To McCarthy

Zero2Cool

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Packers Offer Job To McCarthy
Packers The Packers have chosen their new coach -- and it's not Steve Mariucci. The Packers will officially hire Niners offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy, a former quarterbacks coach with the Packers, later this week, Len Pasquarelli report

www.espn.com

Packers set to hire 49ers O.C. McCarthy as coach
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
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The Green Bay Packers will fill their head coach vacancy with a former Brett Favre tutor, but not the one some people close to the quarterback had suggested might perhaps make an apt replacement for the deposed Mike Sherman.

Packers general manager Ted Thompson has chosen San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy to be the team's new coach, with an official announcement likely later this week. The two sides must still negotiate a contract, but there aren't expected to be any major sticking points in those discussions.

The job offer to McCarthy, one of seven candidates that Thompson interviewed, was confirmed to ESPN.com on Wednesday evening by NFL sources and also reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

McCarthy, 42, served as the Packers' quarterbacks coach in 1999, working with Favre. Last week, Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, suggested his client might more likely to return to the team in 2006 if Green Bay hired Steve Mariucci, a former Packers assistant who was later the head coach in San Francisco (1997-2002) and Detroit (2003-2005).

Since leaving the Packers to become offensive coordinator of New Orleans Saints in 2000, McCarthy has maintained a relationship with Favre. It is not believed, however, that played a significant part in Thompson's decision to offer McCarthy the job.

Regarded league-wide as a very creative offensive mind, McCarthy is also known for his communication skills and ability to develop a quick rapport with his players.

The Pittsburgh native entered the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 and served as an offensive assistant and then quarterbacks coach for six seasons before going to Green Bay in 1999. He was named the Saints' offensive coordinator in 2000 and helped then-coach Jim Haslett lead New Orleans to a division that season. In 2005, McCarthy was hired by first-year 49ers coach Mike Nolan as offensive coordinator.

As a college coach, McCarthy served on staffs at Fort Hays State (1987-88) and the University of Pittsburgh (1989-92).

Among the quarterbacks with whom McCarthy has worked at the college and pro levels are Joe Montana, Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, Alex Van Pelt, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Blake, Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger and Aaron Brooks.

Also interviewed for the Packers position were defensive coordinators Wade Phillips (San Diego), Ron Rivera (Chicago), Tim Lewis (New York Giants) and Jim Bates (Green Bay) and offensive coordinators Maurice Carthon (Cleveland) and Sean Payton (Dallas). Thompson had arranged to interview Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm later this week.

Sherman was dismissed the day after the season ended, after compiling a 59-43 mark in six seasons.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com
 

Chamuko

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Mexico we have a say "In order to be a bullfighter you must first look like one" and IMHO McCarthy does not look like a HC to me, not at all..

And yes Depack his price for running an outstanding ofense in S.F. will be to become HC of the Pack.....

Well bye, bye playoffs for a long, long time, I really wish I am wrong... I really do.

Dark horse enters coaching derby
Packers interview 49ers' McCarthy
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein @ journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 8, 2006
Of all the candidates being considered for the Green Bay Packers' head-coaching job, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy has flown lowest beneath the radar.



But for those who think he's a courtesy interview based on his ties to the organization, his credentials should be considered.

McCarthy, 42, became the fourth National Football League assistant coach to interview with general manager Ted Thompson, spending almost the entire day at Packers headquarters Sunday after arriving in Green Bay late Saturday afternoon. He is one of three offensive coordinators Thompson has on his shopping list and the only one to have worked in the Packers' organization.

According to one NFL personnel director, McCarthy is a strong candidate for the Packers' position despite hardly ever being mentioned in media circles. The Packers are the only team to request permission from the 49ers to interview McCarthy, but other teams have sent out feelers, according to another NFL source.

McCarthy's agent, Gary O'Hagan, said Sunday that McCarthy had a "terrific" interview with Thompson, but he said he didn't know where his client stood on Thompson's list. He said one thing he was sure of was that McCarthy had left an impression with those still in the organization during his year as quarterbacks coach under Ray Rhodes in 1999.

"That's important," O'Hagan said. "He has a relationship with people there who know what he's capable of."

Thompson was personnel director under former general manager Ron Wolf during McCarthy's season in Green Bay and undoubtedly remembered Wolf's respect for McCarthy's ability. McCarthy also worked with personnel analyst John Schneider and the late Mark Hatley, the team's former vice president of football operations, in Kansas City before coming to the Packers.

McCarthy grew up in the West Coast offense, first learning it from Bill Walsh disciple Paul Hackett at the University of Pittsburgh (1979-'82) and then with the Chiefs, for whom Hackett became offensive coordinator. He has coached the system wherever he has gone in the NFL and has specialized in working with quarterbacks.

As a quality control assistant in Kansas City, McCarthy spent a year working with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and then, in 1999, he coached Brett Favre during one of Favre's toughest seasons. Favre gutted out a sprained thumb suffered in an exhibition game and forged three last-minute comeback victories early in the season, but ultimately he finished with the third-lowest quarterback rating of his career and completed a career-low 57.3% of his passes.

After Rhodes was fired, McCarthy went to New Orleans, where he was eventually named offensive coordinator and played a big role in the development of quarterback Aaron Brooks, a former Packer. McCarthy coached Brooks and current Seattle starter Matt Hasselbeck while in Green Bay.

McCarthy regularly runs an off-season quarterback school where fundamentals are stressed. Hasselbeck credited those workouts for his early success. Known as a no-nonsense straight shooter, McCarthy butted heads with Brooks for five seasons in New Orleans and got mixed results from him.

As soon as McCarthy left for San Francisco, Brooks' numbers dropped dramatically and he was benched as the starter this season. McCarthy was thought to be the one person in the organization who would stand up to Brooks and criticize him when he made mistakes.

"Mike's two great strengths are that he's a great offensive coach and he has a great demeanor," O'Hagan said.

Under McCarthy, the Saints' offense ranked 10th in 2000 and 2001, 19th in 2002, 11th in 2003 and 15th in 2004.

McCarthy left the Saints after the 2004 season, some say because he didn't feel supported in his dealings with Brooks and thought a change was necessary.

This season, the 49ers had one of their worst years in club history on offense and McCarthy took some grief from the fans for it.

But San Francisco traded its most experienced quarterback, Tim Rattay, early in the season, lost No. 1 pick Alex Smith to an injury in Week 7 and was devoid of talent at wide receiver and running back.

Thompson's interview odyssey continues today with San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips at the Packers' facility. Thompson is expected to try to interview New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm is also on the list but it's unclear when he will interview. Packers defensive coordinator Jim Bates will interview at midweek.
_________________
"An army of deer led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by a deer." - Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great
 

DePack

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I'm actually alright with this pick except for the fact that I feel bad for Bates. I guess settles the debate about who hired Bates as Defensive Coordinator.
 

tromadz

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DePack said:
Why? Because San Frans offense overachieved this year?

lol, i know. if it was like the OC of ...the colts id be a little excited. But the 49ers, the bottom dwellers for the last 4 years? this guy deserves a job...why? but, ill let him prove himself.
 

Heatherthepackgirl

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just heard it on TV that McCarthy is in Green BAy right now and signing contracts...and the announcement can come as early as tomorrow..I sure wished it was going to be Bates..maybe Brett will still return being he worked with this guy already...fingers crossed..sure hope they had a good relationship...
 

PackerChick

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Heatherthepackgirl said:
just heard it on TV that McCarthy is in Green BAy right now and signing contracts...and the announcement can come as early as tomorrow..I sure wished it was going to be Bates..maybe Brett will still return being he worked with this guy already...fingers crossed..sure hope they had a good relationship...

does it appear this news is official?
 

LambeauLeaper

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I have the first picture of McCarthy after signing the contract to become the next HC in Green Bay:


You must be logged in to see this image or video!
 

billv

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Wolf supported McCarthy so I think it's a good decision. I now hope that Bates will continue as DC.
 

Gopackgo82

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I'm starting to think that judging him based on his ONE YEAR with the 49ers is the wrong way to think about this. I mean, come on..... Look at the 49ers roster for Christ's sake. A coach can only do so much....

I think TT saw some really good HC characteristics in him. He may turn out to be a good HC. We don't really know anything about this, only TT knows. TT is a GM in the NFL and is around football all the time. We are just regular people reading from computer screens. TT knows much more about everyone and everything in the NFL than all of us combined. I'm not going to judge McCarthy until he actually gets to coach some games. Only time will tell....

I'm not saying that this is a good move or a bad move.... but there is more to hiring a coach than just looking at that coach's team stats from the year before.
 

subin

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In all fairness, I'm pretty sure TT wouldn't hire some random moron. This guy obviously impressed him and has some good characteristics. I'm not going to judge him yet, even if the 9ers offense was terrible this year.
 

LambeauLeaper

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I sure hope the people that are supportive of this move are right. I can't say I'm supportive of it, because it seems like every move TT has made has been worse than the last. It's a double-edged sword for a Packer fan because you want to show your support, but at the same time care so much about the team that bad moves and dumb decisions affect you even more. I'm no expert, but this move doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. I can only hope I'm dumber than I think ;)
 

tromadz

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LambeauLeaper said:
I can't say I'm supportive of it, because it seems like every move TT has made has been worse than the last.

Which move was that? The cutting of Cledius Hunt the abortion? Or was it the firing of a horrible HC in Mike Sherman?
 

mattresell

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McCarthy is widely considered one of the top offensive minds in football. He is also well known for working with QBs. I'd say those are 2 very good qualifications given the team we have.

I too was a big Bates supporter, but that has nothing to do with McCarthy's qualifications. If Bates comes back as DC, it's a win win situation. Bates works with the D and McCarthy brings Rodgers along.

This could work out better than we originally thought.
 
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This news hit me out of the blue. I can say I am very dissapointed that Bates didn't get the job. But I am willing to give TT a chance to show that his choice can get it done. I just hope it isn't akward for a HC to come in and keep the entire defense coaching staff from the previous regime. Bates return is essential to any hopes the Packers have of improving.

It is no doubt that some of Mike Sherman/Tom Rossley's play calling was less than impressive and predictable. McCarthy has a reputation of being an excellent Offensive mind, and ability to make excellent plays. Hopefully this Offence can get back on track.

I am however dissapointed in the move. I am willing to give TT a chance, but the fact is this isn't something any of us were expecting. I sure hope I am wrong, but as of right now this choice looks obviously flawed.
 

LambeauLeaper

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mattresell said:
McCarthy is widely considered one of the top offensive minds in football. He is also well known for working with QBs.

According to who? I've never even heard of this guy until he was listed as having an interview for the GB job. Why is everyone all of a sudden saying what a great offensive mind this guy is? No one mentioned him before this. Like I said before though, I just hope I'm wrong.
 

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