From: Bill of Hurley Wi
Question: Ray Rhodes took a Super Bowl runner-up to 8 and 8 and lost his job. McCarthy has taken an NFC Championship runerup to maybe 6 wins. Why isn't his job in jeopardy?? My opinion is that back then we had a GM with a brain and a team President with a spine.....
The above is a sample of the majority of emails that I have received over the last few weeks. My question is; do you really think about what you write before you write it or are you drinking heavily?
This argument is absolutely ignorant and here's why;
Ray Rhodes had one year. He was 8-8. Ron Wolf stated, time and again, that Rhodes wasn’t what he seemed to be. While he worked tirelessly, he wasn’t organized, he had lost the locker-room and, while a solid defensive coordinator, didn’t seem to be ready to be a head coach in the NFL; thus, the reason why Rhodes never got another head coaching job after he left Green Bay .
By the way Bill (note from above) the Packers were 11-5 the year prior, 2nd in the NFC Central, lost to the 49ers in the Wild Card Game. They were NOT a Super Bowl runner-up.
Mike McCarthy, when he took over, inherited a 4-12 team. He went 8-8 in his first season then 13-3 in his second season with a 1-1 record in the playoffs and an appearance in the NFC Championship game.
That’s why, in my opinion, Thompson and McCarthy will get another year to turn this around.
If you’re going to argue; argue apples to apples, not apples to oranges. You can’t just say because a car is red that it stinks. There are all different types of red cars; you have to take each one on its own merits.
Look at the talent, the circumstances, the effort, the injuries, the progress or lack thereof, the conditioning, the upcoming off-season moves. This is a NFL franchise, you can’t make emotional decisions. I understand frustration, heck I feel it too. You can’t allow your frustration to cloud your judgment. You have to think about what’s best for the organization, the players, the long term future…all of it.
The guy everyone wants to see, when coaching changes are discussed, is Bill Cowher. Have you really looked at Cowher’s record?
1992 – 11 wins – 5 losses
1993 – 9 wins – 7 losses
1994 – 12 wins – 4 losses
1995 - 11 wins – 5 losses
1996 – 10 wins – 6 losses
1997 – 11 wins – 5 losses
1998 – 7 wins – 9 losses
1999 – 6 wins – 10 losses
2000 – 9 wins 7 losses
2001 – 13 wins – 3 losses
2002 – 10 wins – 5 losses
2003 – 6 wins – 10 losses
2004 – 15 wins – 1 loss
2005 – 11 wins – 5 losses (Super Bowl Champions)
2006 – 8 wins – 8 losses
15 years, 11 winning season, 3 losing seasons and one season at 8-8.
He’s a hugely successful coach, there’s no doubt about that, but under the philosophy of a lot of Packers fans, you would have fired him after his 6th season.
I give you these numbers just as a sobering reminder that the NFL is an up and down league. Yet another reason why I believe Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy will get another year to try and correct the issues that have plagued this years version of the Green Bay Packers. I'm not saying that this is a right or wrong situation, I'm simply giving you the facts to make a resonable determination, not a knee-jerk angered reaction.
Think with your heads people!