Packers President Mark Murphy isn't ready to write off this season yet, but in a phone interview today, he expressed his disappointment in the Packers' 4-4 start and perhaps put General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy on notice.
Here are the highlights from that interview:
Question: The season hasn't gone as way you hoped, do you think this can be saved this year?
Murphy: "Yeah, I do. I've seen enough football and been involved in the NFL long enough that I can see it happening, sure. But obviously I'm disappointed about where we are. The number one goal as an organization every year is to win, but obviously we've got half the season left, and it's really premature to do an evaluation. At the end the season, I'll sit down and see how we performed."
Q: At this point, can you judge Ted and Mike based on where youre at?
Murphy: "You really need to wait until the whole season is completed. I've seen it both ways. Teams get off to great starts and collapse, or struggle early and play well at the end. But obviously I'm disappointed in where we are now, especially the loss to Tampa, very disappointing to everybody, but we'll see how we respond."
Q: Do you still have faith in Ted and Mikes program?
Murphy: "Yeah, I do. I still have confidence in Ted. Obviously for me, I work through Ted, and he and I are always in touch with each other, and I have a lot of confidence in Ted."
Q: Do you sense that Ted has that same confidence in Mike?
Murphy: "You'll have to talk to Ted, but my sense is that he does have confidence but (is) disappointed in where we are right now. We're all hoping that we can make the changes that are needed to get us to where we want to be at the end of the season."
Q: What are those changes?
Murphy: "That's what Ted and Mike (do); that's what we're looking for from (the) football (operation). I know it's not easy, winning in the NFL is very challenging from week to week, but I'm confident that we can do it."
Q: Why hasn't this season gone as well as many expected?
Murphy: "Well I guess the main thing I'd say is you can't too much weight on the preseason. I think we've known that all along, but yeah to me it's still a work in progress. Again, I think we've had some disappointing losses, but we're 4-4 halfway through the season, and I think we can still have a successful year, just making sure that we make the changes that are necessary to get us to that point."
Q: Is the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee pressuring you to make changes?
Murphy: "No, no. They're involved, and they provide all kinds of advice, but at the end of the day, it's going to be my decision."