The COACHES
Head coach Mike McCarthy: Was unwilling to give a self-evaluation when asked Wednesday about how he’d done this season, saying, “I don’t know, that’s probably a question for Ted. I’m not really ready to … What did I do? I didn’t win the last game, so I didn’t do a good enough job.” The team’s struggles in the immediate aftermath of Rodgers’ injury, going 0-4-1 in the five games including the loss to the Bears, made one wonder what role the head coach played in not overcoming the obviously huge loss. Still got a young team missing its star player to the playoffs, which cannot be pooh-poohed. Took exception when a reporter asked in a roundabout way about his first-and-goal call for a handoff to Cobb on what turned out to be the Packers’ final possession of the season. Didn’t intentionally get Lacy hurt by his decision not to kneel out the final 15 seconds of the first half against Atlanta on Dec. 8 and insisted he did not err in that situation. As the offensive playcaller, those types of second-guesses come with the territory. Called it the most challenging season of his career – more so than his rookie season of 2006 or the 2008 season where his team went 6-10 after the acrimonious departure of Brett Favre – which is really saying something. Now eight years in, only Curly Lambeau coached more regular-season and playoff games in Green Bay than McCarthy. His challenge going forward will be to keep his message fresh and replenish a coaching staff that, after years of continuity, could lose a few key cogs. He has control over staff hires, so those will be on him to fill. Must continue to work on his relationship with Rodgers, who angrily argued with him on the sideline in Cincinnati in September and can be challenging and headstrong.
Defensive coordinator Dom Capers: Appears to have survived the angry Packers fans who were calling for his head again this season. Certainly had his ups-and-downs but cannot be held solely responsible for the defense’s inconsistencies. Weathered the storm without Matthews, Jolly and Hayward, all of whom were missed. His unit finished tied for 24th in scoring defense (26.8 points per game), 25th in yards allowed (372.3), 25th in rushing yards allowed (125.0), 24th in passing yards allowed (247.3), tied for eighth in sacks (44) and tied for 20th in takeaways (22). Does what he can with young, inexperienced players in his complex system, but might be better served to dumb down some of its more challenging aspects as simplifying may allow some younger players to play faster and more decisively. Will never have a unit that will be comprised of solely veteran players, not with Thompson as the GM, but getting some impact players would help ease the pain of playing youngsters.
Offensive coordinator Tom Clements: Even without Rodgers for essentially eight games, coordinated an offense that finished No. 3 in yards (400.3 per game), tied for eighth in scoring (26.1 points per game), seventh in rushing (133.5 yards per game, and tied for fourth with 4.7 yards per attempt) and sixth in passing (266.8 yards per game). With a head coach who calls the plays, it’s hard to gauge just what Clements’ strengths and weaknesses are, but the team’s red-zone failings (a 50.8 percent touchdown rate, compared to 68.0 percent a year ago) has to be one of his offseason priorities.
Special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum: As is always the case, the injury epidemic took its toll on special teams, where 39 different players saw action. Slocum made sure Crosby got his act together after last year’s train wreck of a season, watched Masthay evolve into one of the league’s better punters and worked diligently on a return game that struggled, especially on kickoffs. He was among those who decided to jettison returner Jeremy Ross, who was made an example of after his muff against Cincinnati in Week 3. Ross went on to be very productive for the Detroit Lions, perhaps simply benefitting from a change of scenery. Goal for next season – aside from better health – has to be to get the return game going, as the Packers were 30th in the 32-team NFL with a 20.3-yard average on kickoff returns. Hyde, who took over for Ross, did have a 93-yard punt return that helped the Packers finish seventh in return average (11.3).
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