The public opinion on McCarthy and Thompson is beginning to turn. Many of the folks who were in their corner are starting to take a different look at this team and how it is built. Murphy's comment werent exactly a ringing endorsement for either, but his comments were telling.

My take on one of his comments:

He mentioned that he gets plenty of advice from the EC, but in the end its his decision to make.

I take this as bad news for one or both both of these guys, it makes it sound like some of the EC members arent on board with one or both of these guys and Murphy is trying to balance it by saying its his decision to make.

The point of my post is that once public opinion starts to sway against either of these guys its hard to stop. You are walking a slippery slope because you can win games , but every loss slides you further and further down the slope. They could end up upseting the Cowboys, but you lose to SF and the you are back to bad coaching, no discipline, bad draft picks and so on in the public opinion arena. Barring a night and day turnaround, this could be the beginning of the end for one or both of these guys. Those public opinion seeds are planted, and they are tough to stop without a decent winning streak, and Im not sure we have that in us.

EC?

Yeah, I agree GM.

I think the bigger problem many people have with the current administration is not only what they're doing now. I mean, every team has a bad season here and there. But it's the precedent that's been set of recurring problems -- inactivity in free agency for Thompson, poor play-calling for McCarthy, etc. And --- what's in store for the future, too. That's a big part of it. Because looking at it right now, can any of us honestly say that we feel confident about next year? I know I don't.

Heh. I was wondering when that picture was going to show up on here? I've gotten that in my inbox about 5 times already.

I think this second half will go a long way in deciding what happens at the end of the season. I know it may be a longshot but what happens if this teams goes 7-1, 6-2 the rest of the way? Everyone will point to the turnaround and life will carry on as usual, expecting next year to be even greater, while forgetting about the first half of the season. Winning cures a lot and if this team can get on a roll, TT and MM will be back to saviour status.

Based on the Murphy interview, Ted Thompson is probably safe.

If anyone is getting fired it will be McCarthy.

If you consider the cost of both their contracts and the additional cost of bringing in a new administration, the Packers would likely run a deficit.

I would be shocked and pleasantly surprised if they both got dismissed.

executive committee

The bigger concern to Murphy and the EC is how the current state of the team is affecting revenues. If the team continues to wallow in mediocrity and revenues continue to decline as a result, Murphy will be forced to do something about it.

Small market teams walk a fine line with expenses vs. revenue. GB has always been somewhat immune to that due to the loyal fanbase and the fact they were pretty successful through the 1990's and early 2000's and had a marketable commodity in Brett Favre. Both of those are gone now, so Murphy doesn't have the luxury of riding out several bad years waiting for things to turn around.

Apparently it's Mike McCarthy's birthday today. Happy Birthday coach! As a gift, I won't trash him anymore today.

In the end , I think both are back next year because of the finanical obligation. I think there will be a clear ultimatum for 2010, playoffs or clean out your office. Dont bother asking if you dont. No playoffs, call the movers monday morning after the final game next year. No need to talk.

Murphy needs to keep an eye on Thompson too. Under these type of parameters. You cant have Thompson pulling off a Hadl trade at next years trading deadline to try to save his butt.

The flip side is that the Packers (like every other team) make more money when they win than when they lose. As a small-market team they need to be extremely protective of their brand, especially headed into waters as dangerous as the upcoming (probable) uncapped season. The upshot of that is individuals who are identified as being responsible for losing games won't be saved by contract considerations.

I still think McCarthy's gone and Thompson stays.

MM just can't seem to hack it as HC -- he can't develop the talent he's being given (Rodgers being the obvious exception), and that's a core part of his job. You can't have a winning team without having the non-superstars (aka, the bulk of the team) perform well, and there's no reason that any team with a talent level like the Packers should be this bad at so many basic parts of the game.

Again, nothing personal against him. I don't like seeing the team lose, but I think some posters here are way off the deep end in their criticism of McCarthy. He isn't lazy or stupid or too wrapped up with having a new kid or any of the other bull people spew in their rants, he just can't manage all the aspects of the job -- this happens all the time with head coaches in the NFL.

While I know the notion will anger certain people here, Ted Thompson's position is probably strengthened by the fact that he made the hard decision in the Favre case. Not only did it show that he's willing to make hard and unpopular decisions, but it also bound a lot of the Packers brass to him when they supported him on it. As such, they're not going to get rid of Thompson so long as it might be related to the Favre situation -- this is Office Politics 101.

And besides, it's hard to know what to think about TT's draft choices when MM isn't able to develop the players he's being given (yes, I realize TT hired MM). The only stand-outs are guys who are the superstars, and that just isn't enough -- I really can't believe that all of the 'regular' players TT has acquired are somehow all terrible picks who can't grow into their roles.

Just my two cents. For the record: I didn't think MM needed to go until just very recently, and I don't consider TT's approach to be above reproach either. I'm just trying to be realistic.

A telling sign has started already. Watch how many of the opposing fans start to fill the bowl for each home game. People have already commented about how many Vike fans were there two weeks ago. I bet there will be a fair amount of Cowboy fans this week. There won't be a huge demand for SF tickets I wouldn't think, so watch the no-show numbers. Same for a meaningless game against Seattle two days after christmas. If they continue to tank as expected, and these numbers become alarming, neither TT or MM will be safe.

I live on the Western side of the state. No way I spend $500-1000 for one days entertainment for a family of 4, especially if the entertainment is the garbage they are putting out on the field now.

When you look at TT's and MM'c Contracts. TT's is the easiest to eat (I believe about 4 Mil). MM is the bigger one at aroun 12 Mil. OUCH!

We have no 'leader' on this team since Brett left.

Face it, he was the guy. He could step up and say 'we are gonna do it', whether by his rep., his words or his deeds.

We no longer have that and it shows.

Does anyone know for sure that McCarthy's deal is guaranteed? Also, there could be (and I'd say there likely is) a buyout clause.

I never realized that I share a b-day with McCarthy.

Damn.

They were ready to spend $20 million to get rid of Favre. $16 sounds like a bargain to get rid of MM & TT

I would just treat them like crap until they both leave. I think this tatic has been used before?

Thank you for your service Vinnie and all who are veterans. I have the greatest respect for you.

Not many people get treated worse than veterans. I tip my hat to Vinnie too. And happy birthday, Heat (belatedly).


That's a very insightful comment, IMO. I agree with you. It's not enough now for McCarthy to be good - he has to consistently excel, which means the team has to consistently excel. Even if the team finishes out, say, 6-2, as Bud (I think it was) mentions, McCarthy will still be on thin ice, though he'll probably keep his job. There'll still be zero tolerance for slips next year.

The word guaranteed has been mentioned to me more than once. In one word YES

Actually that is not the case. Because of shared TV revenue its not a big gap at all. Remember 67% of all revenue is the national TV deal and the local rights will never be really impacted. Because of the waiting list season ticket sales are not an issue or any tickets sales for that matter. The only thing is merchandise sales.

A few years back there was a study that showed that losing teams actually were more profitable, lower payroll and the same shared revenue stream.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/4...e_playoffs.html

That was $20M over 10 years though.

But, like I've mentioned. You can probably get McCarthy to agree to a buyout of about $8 million. You see it a lot with coaches. If they don't want to be there anymore and they feel like they're not wanted, they're more willing to negotiate to a lower buyout.

That $20 million wasn't a handout. It was a marketing deal that likely would have made the Packers money in the long run. The national media liked to make it sound like some sort of bribe to go away, but that's not what that was.

Getting rid of MM and TT could be seen as investment of a sort too, I suppose. We'll have to see how the rest of the season plays out.

Umm... That's EXACTLY what is was.

How do you mean? They had this in the works before he even retired. Maybe they upped the ante a little bit in terms of what they were willing to offer, but they planned to make money off of his name.

Good argument!!!



Please look at what Jeremy and Vots have said.

Go Pack!!

Of course it was. Not taking sides anymore. But it was a flat out scared, desperation, bribe. The better man won.

You said better man so that must rule out Favre.

Exactly, but some people will never believe it....to bad they refuse to believe or get the facts before making their decision who to believe.

Believe it.

in the history of football has a deal like that ever been cut?