5 or more things, puns included, about McCarthy getting fired
Research shows that you’re more likely to read an article that promises information you need to know.
That same research shows articles that begin with “research shows” do poorly with readers. So let me start over.
Here’s what you need to know about the Green Bay Packers abruptly firing head coach Mike McCarthy!
The Packers keep losing. That’s it really. We hate when that happens, and apparently Packers management feels the same.
They left McCarthy in a Lambeau heap shortly after Sunday’s embarrassing home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a lowly warm-weather team.
Just before he was officially fired, McCarthy summed up the situation in three remarks he made at the postgame news conference. Looking concussed, McCarthy called it a “very disappointing loss.” He said it was “a game we needed to win.” And he confessed, “I didn’t do a good enough job.”
The players also did a bad job, but we can’t fire them all. So McCarthy, already well past the normal shelf life for an NFL coach with a single team, had to go. With people dumping tickets for under half of face value in the stadium parking lot Sunday, something needed to be done.
McCarthy’s dismissal might be merciful. Rumor has it that Wisconsin’s Republican-dominated Legislature was close to voting in special session to limit his powers.
It’s unfair to call McCarthy a loser. To paraphrase a line from “It’s A Wonderful Life,” no man is a failure who has wins. The banished Packers skipper brought us 125 wins, compared with 77 losses, and dominated the rival Bears and Vikings.
He led the team to more playoff appearances and wins than any other Packers coach. We can thank him for the victory in Super Bowl XLV, a mere VIII years ago.
But we’re hearing that star quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t crazy about McCarthy. That he wasn’t Rodgers’ Hammerstein. Some pundits
are vying for clicks by suggesting that he quit on the coach Sunday to force the firing. It won’t be long before someone says Danica Patrick wanted McCarthy gone.
As fans, we don’t get a vote in all this. There will be no McCarthy hearings. No one will shout, “At long last, sir, have you no sense of decent play calling?”
Even though the Packers sent him packing, I think McCarthy can hold his head up high. He’ll certainly wind up with another team. And he’ll be home for Christmas for a change.
In the meantime, I hear there’s an opening for a fence painter across Lombardi Avenue from Lambeau Field. If it’s any consolation, McCarthy turned 55 last month, making him eligible for the seniors discount menu at Denny’s. And an Appleton guy has created a GoFundMe account for McCarthy with a goal of $125, a buck for each victory.
It must feel weird to separate from a team after 13 years. Half of the clothes McCarthy owns are probably green and gold. Be on the lookout for used XXL gear on eBay.
Some of you must be wondering, “How do I talk to my children about McCarthy getting fired?” Assure them that it’s probably not their fault and that it’s OK to feel afraid about the Packers’ future. Don’t sugarcoat it. Sacking the head coach mid-season is messed up. Explain that, for the first time in their lives, the guy they see roaming the sidelines won’t be named Mike.
Right now, that’s interim head coach Joe Philbin. For what you need to know about McCarthy’s successor long-term, I really have no idea. Research shows you need a sportswriter for that one.