After suffering an embarrassing 17-20 loss at home from 2-9 Arizona Cardinals and losing the chance to reach the playoffs, Green Bay Packers have decided to fire their head coach Mike McCarthy. Although it is a surprise that the Packers made this decision mid-season, McCarthy was on a hot seat for some time and was expected to leave at the end of the year.
Green Bay named offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as an interim head coach. Philbin already has head coaching experience, having coached Miami Dolphins from 2012 to 2015.
The decision to fire Mike McCarthy was confirmed by Packers president Mark Murphy on Sunday night.
“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,” – said Murphy in a statement. “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. We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities. We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers.”
Mike McCarthy joined the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and managed to lead the team to playoffs in nine out of his first 11 seasons in charge. Although Packers managed to won one Super Bowl trophy under McCarthy, the 55-year-old also missed out on several opportunities to win more titles having lost three NFC Championship games.
McCarthy has a 125–77–2 regular season record as Green Bay coach while being 10-8 in the postseason.
