Green Bay Packers make their decision about head coach McCarthy
The Green Bay Packers are in the market for a new general manager, but not a new head coach.
One day after the team announced General Manager Ted Thompson would be moving into a new role with the organization, the Packers confirmed the team had signed head coach Mike McCarthy to a one-year contract extension.
McCarthy is now under contract through the 2019 season.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky was the first to report the deal, which was reportedly signed during the season but not officially announced until Tuesday.
“Mike is our man. He is our coach,” team president Mark Murphy said Tuesday. “We have all the confidence in the world in Mike, we’re going to have great success moving forward. So yeah, he will be our coach.”
McCarthy has a 131-78-1 record with the Packers in 12 seasons as head coach. He has 10 postseason wins, including a victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
Thompson, 64, had been general manager since 2005. He made the decision to hire McCarthy as coach in 2006.
Thompson will become a senior adviser to football operations, Murphy announced Tuesday.
Murphy said the team’s new general manager will be hired with the knowledge that McCarthy is the team’s coach for at least the next two seasons.
Mark Murphy says Mike McCarthy will NOT have to wait for the new GM to hire a defensive coordinator. He also says McCarthy is "our man." The new GM will be told he is the coach. McCarthy did get a 1 year extension during the season. pic.twitter.com/KT6lPWKbLP
— Scott Grodsky (@ScottGrodsky) January 2, 2018
While Murphy leads the search for a new general manager, McCarthy is tasked with finding a new defensive coordinator. On Monday, McCarthy fired Dom Capers, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2009.
The extension for McCarthy means he will not be a “lame duck” coach this season, a situation that could have made hiring a high-profile defensive coordinator much more difficult.
The Packers' GM search will not impact coach Mike McCarthy's timeline for hiring a defensive coordinator or other assistants. "Mike has that authority," team president Mark Murphy said. "Things move quickly on the coaching side. You don't want to put… https://t.co/O9HwCxOMxI
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 2, 2018
In addition to Capers, the team fired two other members of the defensive staff — defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and inside linebackers coach Scott McCurley. Green Bay’s defense ranked 22nd in the NFL this season.
Green Bay missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The team got off to a 4-1 start, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in a loss Oct. 15 at Minnesota and missed the next eight games. The team lost eight of its last 11 games to finish 7-9.
McCarthy and New Orleans coach Sean Payton are the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFC, with both joining their respective teams in 2006. New England coach Bill Belichick is the longest tenured in the NFL, having joined the Patriots in 2000.
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