Mike McCarthy's Execution

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Photo Credit: Evan Siegle Packers.com

After the Packers lost to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, head coach Mike McCarthy was relieved of his duties. Arizona came into the game as one of the NFL’s worst teams, playing on the road in a hostile environment. It didn’t matter, as the Green Bay Packers played one of their worst games in decades, ending their playoff hopes and putting a cap on a disappointing season. McCarthy was a de facto lame duck before this game, but the level of effort put forth by the players made it clear that they had already moved on. There was no longer any reason to delay the inevitable.

There isn’t much to say about the game itself. It was one of the most boring NFL games of the season filled with errors on all sides of the ball. So instead, I would like to talk about McCarthy’s career, why he was one of the best coaches in the game and why that is no longer the case.

All Tactics

When I think about McCarthy, one of the first things that jumps into my mind is the back-shoulder throw. McCarthy didn’t invent the back-shoulder, but he and Aaron Rodgers did popularize it during Jordy Nelson’s prime. The back-shoulder is a great play when executed well—essentially unstoppable—and the Packers ran it better than anyone else. That’s McCarthy’s game in a nutshell.

McCarthy was lauded as a great coach from Monday to Saturday, while being perfectly adequate on Sunday. It’s important to remember that not that long ago, the NFL wasn’t as creative offensively. Most coaches coached similar games, seeking run-pass balance, using some shotgun, but probably not enough, using some play-action, but probably not enough, and generally playing “standard football.” In that world, a coach like McCarthy can be a great success, as he managed to get his players to execute “standard football” at a very high level. McCarthy benefitted from an outstanding collection of receiving talent in addition to Rodgers, but they also ran like a well-oiled machine.

McCarthy is also widely credited with creating Aaron Rodgers, and as overhyped as that sounds, there is a good amount of truth to it. Coming out of University of California, Berkeley, Rodgers was a mechanical mess. The tape on him from his last college game to his first NFL start is like night and day. McCarthy is well-regarded as a developer of quarterbacks, and while his crop may seem lackluster aside from Rodgers, do keep in mind just how much money Matt Flynn made. His quarterback development program is, again, a tactical advantage. Rodgers in his prime was a marvel of accuracy, and his ability to generate ball speed through reformed mechanics was textbook.

He should be lauded for these accomplishments, and in some situations he can probably still be effective, but the NFL has moved on, and perfectly executing on your ideas is no longer enough if they are bad ideas.

No Strategy

In the grand scheme of things, strategy is one of a coach’s least important responsibilities. They have to fix technical issues, teach proper execution of the playbook and manage personalities in the locker room. In-game strategy took a back seat to these concerns for the vast majority of NFL history. While the NFL would experience an occasional burst of creativity, the rate of change was fairly flat with the occasional West Coast spike and Wild Cat hill. The fact that strategy was fairly static for so long left it as an undervalued resource to be exploited. Smart coaches realized they could be successful by tailoring their offenses to the weaknesses of the opposing defense. Bill Belichick was the real pioneer, punishing opposing defenses by picking on obvious weaknesses, but it’s ticked up a notch with the Chiefs, Rams and Saints dominating the league.

McCarthy’s offense has taken its share of ridicule in the last two seasons, but in truth he actually added some creativity over the last six weeks. He does have some creative plays in his playbook, and when he was desperate to save his job, he actually called a few good games. The problem with Mac was never a lack of creative plays in the enormous playbook, it was a lack of understanding of a few fundamental truths about football. Every time he called a hopeless run on third and long, or called a power run on 3rd and short, or took too long to get a play in to Rodgers, he was showing his age and giving his opponents an edge.

Ultimately his lack of strategic acumen started to wear on his strengths. Teaching fundamentals is most effective on a young audience but loses its luster on a veteran team that isn’t succeeding. The past year has been characterized by sloppy play, penalties and receivers not being where they need to be. If you base your reputation on an ability to teach the fundamentals of football, struggling with young players for a full season undercuts your reputation. It may not be ideal to have Equanimeous St. Brown and Marquez Valdes-Scantling so heavily featured, but a teacher should have made more progress by now, and the Packers have, if anything, regressed. The lack of ability to adapt to the new NFL undermined Mike McCarthy’s core strengths.

Moving On

There is a ceiling to the benefits Mike McCarthy can provide to a team, and the Packers have slammed into that ceiling. No team in the league could benefit more from a vibrant offensive mind to rein in Rodgers (who is having a very poor season) and reinvigorate the offensive philosophy. Simply calling a better game on third down and valuing offensive possessions more would have an instant impact on team success. The Packers still possess a unique weapon at quarterback, and this rebuild need not take long. The Milwaukee Bucks recently moved on from one of the NBA’s worst tacticians and instantly morphed into title contenders. The Packers can do the same if they make the right choices in the offseason. The new NFL is all about strategy. The only way to win is to get your players to buy into this fact and outsmart your opponents. Rolling up your sleeves and putting in the effort used to get it done. That is no longer the case.