Stay.... or bolt...?
Bates pondering his future in Green Bay
By BOB McGINN
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 13, 2006
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers don't want to start over on defense but will have to do so unless new coach Mike McCarthy is able to persuade Jim Bates to stay on as defensive coordinator
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Bates was weighing his options Thursday, one day after being told by general manager Ted Thompson that McCarthy was getting the job that he coveted.
"He's disappointed," said agent Gary O'Hagan, who represents both Bates and McCarthy. "If he wasn't disappointed there would be something wrong with him. Of course he wanted to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. But you can only have one head coach."
Bates was lying low Thursday, informing the club's public relations staff that he wasn't returning phone calls.
"I spoke with Jim last night and this morning," Thompson said Thursday afternoon. "He was disappointed. He's thinking. It was an outstanding interview. He's a good man. We'll see where that goes."
Bates, who will turn 60 in May, got a taste of head coaching in Miami late last season and said he loved every minute of it. He posted a 3-4 record as interim coach after Dave Wannstedt resigned under pressure.
He signed a two-year contract with the Packers, and several times expressed how much he liked coaching in the National Football League's smallest city. The defense improved from 25th to seventh in yards allowed. However, the Packers tied for 26th in take-aways, ranked 23rd in run defense and tied for 19th in points allowed.
Although Bates' pride undoubtedly was damaged, O'Hagan said he wouldn't rule out the possibility that his client would remain under McCarthy.
"
But it doesn't mean he's definitely going to stay," O'Hagan said. "I think there could be other (head-coaching) opportunities for him and I know other teams are looking at him, too. What Jim feels is best for him and his wife, that's what will dictate his decision."
There still are seven head-coaching vacancies in the National Football League.
Both McCarthy and Bates became coordinators in 2000. Their teams have never played against each other in the regular season.
"The job he did this past year speaks for itself," McCarthy said. "We do not have a personal relationship but when you compete against another coach, he's a man I respect. I'd love the opportunity to sit down and see if we could work out the possibility of him working here."
If Bates had become head coach, club sources indicated that defensive ends coach Bob Sanders most likely would have been promoted to defensive coordinator. Sanders became highly regarded within the organization during his first year in Green Bay.
Whether Sanders would have a shot at the coordinator's job if Bates departs is
unknown.
The 15 members of Sherman's staff who don't have jobs for 2006 will meet with McCarthy, perhaps as early as today.
Thompson declined comment when asked whether he would grant permission to Bates if he wanted to interview for a coordinator's job with another team.
"I hope we see Jim Bates back here in the coordinator's job," linebacker Nick Barnett said Thursday. "That would be excellent."
If not, Barnett would be playing for his fourth coordinator in his four-year career.
