Mike Nolan may very well be the guy Mike McCarthy wants to hire as his defensive coordinator. There's familiarity there between the two. Nolan has the semblance of a track record.
But as Tom Silverstein wrote today, there are at least a couple other names in the mix.
Let's throw in one more: Ted Thompson.
No, he's not going to be the next defensive coordinator, but he will likely play a central role in whoever that person will be.
Thompson's future with the Packers is linked to that of McCarthy. If McCarthy picks the wrong scheme and coordinator again -- after a 6-10 campaign there might not be any grace period for a change to the 3-4 if it goes really bad -- McCarthy and Thompson will both be looking for work in one to two years. If you think Thompson is the kind of guy who will just sit back and let his coach do whatever he wants while his neck is also on the line, you are mistaken.
Thompson plays the role of Texas country bumpkin very well -- at least half the fan base believes that's exactly what he is -- but Thompson is a very smart man. He climbed the NFL ropes slowly and methodically. He is very shrewd.
Sure, Thompson leaves McCarthy alone for the most part. But when he weighs in on a subject, Thompson usually gets his way.
Remember the 2007 season finale against the Detroit Lions, when the Packers had nothing to play for and the Lions were out of it as usual? In the run up to the game, McCarthy indicated that he was inclined to have his starters play at least half the game. Remember, the Packers had just looked terrible in losing 35-7 to the Bears in Chicago. They hadn't really looked good on offense in some time. They were going to have a bye for the first round of the playoffs. The sentiment was the Packers needed to gain some confidence against the Lions.
Here's exactly what McCarthy said before that game:
(Any thoughts about your plan for playing players?)
As far as our plan for Detroit, we're going to play to win the game. We will start the football game just like we have every single week up until now. Now, how it will unfold during the course of the game, that has not been decided yet.
(How much of that is wiping the bad taste out of your mouth?)
That's part of it. I'm clearly not happy with the way we performed yesterday. So it's important to get back on the field and get going as far as playing to the level that we need to play. And, also with the fact that we won't play for another week, I want to make sure we stay sharp. We need to clean up a lot of things fundamentally just off of our last contest, and that will be our focus as we go through the week and have the opportunity to go out and compete and win the game against Detroit.
Sure sounds like a guy who wanted to get his troops going.
But when the game came, starters Charles Woodson, Korey Hall, Aaron Kampman Ryan Pickett, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Donald Lee were all inactive. Brett Favre and Ryan Grant played about a quarter.
What happened between McCarthy's comments and the game? Thompson, an injury freak (his fingerprints are all over the dismissal of strength coordinator Rock Gullickson, by the way), is what happened. Thompson was more worried about injuries (than) offensive rhythm. We all know who won that battle.
Look for Thompson to weigh in on the defensive coordinator just as heavily. Remember, Thompson's title is "Executive Vice President, General Manager & Director of Football Operations." As his bio in the media guide clearly states (emphasis is mine):
Thompson's career as a football executive came full circle on Jan. 14, 2005. That day, former Green Bay Packers CEO Bob Harlan gave him full authority over all aspects of football operations for the storied franchise.
Nolan might very well be the guy. But if you're Thompson right now, don't you have to be thinking a few of the following things:
* I've had two losing seasons in my four-year tenure. I can't really afford a third. If we don't win this year, people are going to start to question the talent on our roster. We all know where that ax falls.
* I trusted McCarthy to hire Bob Sanders before and that didn't work out so well. Maybe my offensive-mind coach isn't really an expert on defensive schemes (although usually they are because they prepare for them) and I should take this over?
* Does he want to run the 3-4 for this year? Does he realize how long that will take to retool the roster? Plus, we've been scouting all these players for this year's draft with our current scheme in mind?
* Has McCarthy thought that Nolan might have ridden the coattails of Marvin Lewis with the Baltimore defense? I mean, he was a receivers coach his first year in Baltimore after being a coordinator fo the Redskins, Giants and Jets. That doesn't say great things about his acumen. Plus, the 49ers defense sure got better when Nolan left.
* McCarthy remembers that I interviewed seven people before I settled on "the unknown Mike McCarthy" as my head coach, right? Sometimes I feel like finding guys under rocks (i.e. cheap).
* McCarthy does realize that Gregg Williams is available, right? I mean, everywhere that guy has been his defenses have been aggressive and physical -- exactly what McCarthy wants. Plus, he can make do with chicken salad. I'm thinking that should our guy.
Full authority over all aspects of football operations. Just keep that in mind as things get more serious over the next week.