Green Bay It was certainly an interesting off-season for Green Bay Packers assistant head coach Winston Moss.
He watched five guys with whom he worked side-by-side for four years get fired by coach Mike McCarthy, who wanted a clean slate on defense.
Moss was the lone position coach not to get the ax.[img_r]http://media.jsonline.com/images/199*118/moss100809.jpg[/img_r]
He interviewed for head coaching positions with the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams but didn't land either.
He watched McCarthy interview Mike Nolan, Gregg Williams, Jim Haslett and Dom Capers for the vacant defensive coordinator position Moss felt he was ready to handle.
In the end, McCarthy settled on Capers, and Moss remained on the Packers' staff.
Considering that Moss reportedly interviewed for the position Capers got, the first staff meeting had to be uncomfortable.
But not because McCarthy chose Capers over Moss. McCarthy never interviewed Moss for the coordinator position.
"That's a misnomer; it never happened," Moss said last week.
Sure seemed like a logical step in Moss' development.
McCarthy was so impressed by Moss in their time together with the New Orleans Saints that McCarthy brought him to Green Bay as the linebackers coach in 2006. A year later, Moss got the additional title of assistant head coach.
But the man who was considered a head coach candidate by two other teams wasn't given a formal interview by McCarthy.
Moss says he didn't feel slighted.
"No," he said. "That's a situation I didn't have control of and I'm a guy that doesn't worry about things I have no control over. Would I enjoy coordinating a defense? Yes. Did that situation come up this off-season? No."
McCarthy wasn't available for comment, but those familiar with his thinking said McCarthy didn't need to interview Moss - he knew him well enough already. McCarthy also wanted an experienced coordinator and was likely feeling some pressure to go outside the organization and make a clean break from the former scheme.
Several veterans on the defense, most notably Charles Woodson, Al Harris, Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins and Nick Barnett, have said they have enormous respect for Moss. Even a little fear at times.
"Winston Moss, he's a great person, a great coach," Jenkins said. "He's a real cool person. He doesn't take any BS. He gets intense during the games."
Some said Moss could have filled the coordinator role, not that they had any problem with hiring Capers. His track record and attention to detail since being hired spoke volumes.
Moss said he hasn't once felt the urge to feel sorry for himself.
"I don't cope. There's a negative connotation to cope. I don't cope," he said.
"My assignment and my role with this defense is the same based upon the position. I'm just an inside linebacker coach, but my role and what I've done in the past is exactly the same. Nothing has changed. How do I fit in? This is an extremely talented staff. Capers, you know about him. (Mike) Trgovac, was an extremely successful coordinator in Carolina so he brings a tremendous amount of skill to the defensive side of the ball. Darren Perry is doing a great job. Joe Whitt is a young, very, very knowledgeable coach. So, a pretty good staff."
Moss does admit, though, that the first few days with the new staff were strange.
"It was awkward because obviously when the previous staff all gets let go and you're the lone survivor, that's awkward," Moss said. "I don't care what you say or what you do, that's awkward. But there was never anything awkward individually or with coach Capers. There was nothing they said or did from that standpoint that made it awkward. It was just awkward in the fact that one guy is a holdover and it's a totally new staff."
Capers, somewhat surprisingly, never attempted to put Moss at ease, but Moss said Capers didn't need to.
"He is so outstanding, he doesn't have to," Moss said. "There's a way that he goes about his business that is some of the best I've ever seen. Just the way that he goes about his business. It's really impressive."
Next off-season, Moss is expected to be busy again. Thanks to his interviews with the Raiders and Rams, Moss' stature across the league has increased. He will likely be considered for other head coaching and coordinator positions. Moss' newfound experience with Capers in the 3-4 will only enhance his rsum.
"I think it can only help being under him and his background and his scheme and then how he's been so successful for such a long time," Moss said. "It's got to be able to rub off. Every coach that's underneath him is going to have a chance to learn some different things, some new things and it's going to be able to help every person on our coaching staff."