Why did the Green Bay Packers fire Mike McCarthy?
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Following Sunday’s loss to Arizona, the Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy. The move was probably unavoidable, even if the timing was shocking.
“The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately,” Packers CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement before thanking McCarthy for his service. “Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field.”
While there’s been no question that McCarthy has had a successful run in Green Bay, it was obvious that whatever had worked in the past simply wasn’t working anymore. As losses began to mount, there was a growing sense that this was going to be McCarthy’s season barring a miracle turnaround. After the Packers’ record fell to 4-7-1 following a home loss to a Cardinals team that had won exactly two games, the team decided there was no use delaying the inevitable.
When the Green Bay Packers lost 20-17 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, there was widespread speculation that the upset would mark the end of Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach. Few expected the change to happen so quickly. Only hours later, the Packers announced McCarthy’s departure and that offensive coordinator Joe Philbin would serve as interim head coach. McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay ended abruptly and ignominiously with that shocking announcement.
