Green Bay fires Coach McCarthy

The Green Bay Packers have fired coach Mike McCarthy and made offensive coordinator Joe Philbin the interim head coach.

The move announced by team president Mark Murphy came after a stunning 20-17 loss on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals, dropping Green Bay to 4-7-1.

Murphy, in a statement, said 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.”

Murphy said the process of hiring the next head coach would begin immediately.

McCarthy was in his 13th season as coach. The Packers won the Super Bowl under McCarthy in the 2010 season. He finishes with a record of 125-77-2.

“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,” Murphy said.

But this is a third straight year in which Green Bay has had extended struggles.

Rodgers was asked after the game — but before McCarthy’s firing was announced — how much blame offensive players should get if the Packers made a coaching change after the season.

“Yeah, a lot probably. We haven’t played very well,” Rodgers said.