Monday, Jan. 19
If I were in charge of the Green Bay Packers I would do two things today.
The first is immediately release Brandon Bostick. No, not for his mishandling Seattle's on-side kick. That was a physical mistake. Why Bostick should go is because of his mental lapse on this pivotal play. His assignment was to block and let sure-handed Jordy Nelson grab the on-side kick. Nelson was right behind him.
The next thing is of far more importance - fire Mike McCarthy. Yep, fire the guy who at 94-49-1 (.656 winning percentage) holds the second-most wins in Packer coaching history.
I rank McCarthy as the ninth-best head coach in the NFL. So he's certainly above average. But the guy has never won a big game when his team wasn't picked to win and his horrendous conservative play-calling and decisions cost the Packers a Super Bowl berth.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers wasn't 100 percent and he was only having a mediocre game. But Seattle was the far more banged-up team, committed five turnovers while playing one of its worst games of the season and the officiating was fair, which is saying a lot when the game is at CenturyLink Field. This was the Packers' game to win and they didn't do it because of the coach.
McCarthy failed to grasp the concept that is especially true in today's NFL that you must play aggressive to win. Being passive won't do the job no matter how flat your opponent is.
McCarthy's gutless coaching in this game will never be forgotten. It's the most galling loss in Packer history. The Packers have good assistant coaches. They just need to find a head man who can inspire his team and isn't afraid to let his studs win games.